Generative-AI Uses

Generative-AI Uses in Higher Education

As Generative-AI has become widely available to the public, we at Thomas College seek to take a proactive approach in order for us to consider how to view the use of these tools from a teaching and learning perspective.

General Overview

• Assigning AI: Seven Approaches for Students with Prompts A comprehensive examination of the use of Large Language Models in education.
• Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning This brief document summaries the “7 Things you should know about…” this topic. It is a publication by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.
• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning A report by the U.S. Office of Educational Technology that outlines viewpoints and recommendations from the Department of Education.
• Russell Group use principles Principles on the use of generative AI tools created by 24 United Kingdom universities.
• ChatGPT Just Got Better Article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by an English instructor who had been testing GPT-4 for six months prior to its release.
• Quick Start Guide to AI and Writing Website of articles from the Humanities Commons Task Force on Writing and AI.

Strategies to Consider

• Try it Yourself! Select one of your assignments or assessments and post the exact set of instructions that you typically give to students to ChatGPT. An analysis of the result will give you insights as to ways you may want to revise the current set of assignments that you have been using.
• Revise to Personalize Since language models for Generative-AI that produce primarily text aggregate information from the internet, revising assignments that include personal aspects, such as reflections or local topics, have students go beyond general information that can be summarized.
• Additional References Along with having students properly cite their use of a Generative-AI tool, have them submit their prompts along with copies of the generated output.
• Critique Steps in the Processes of a Skill Have students use a Generative-AI text tool at different points in the writing process then critique the range of response as a class: generating topic ideas, narrowing a selected topic, contrasting results from a google-type search with one generated by AI, organizing main aspects of a topic, writing a draft, critiquing references provided by the AI, polishing a final copy.
• Beyond Text Generation Because ChatGPT was the first AI generator to catch hold in the mainstream press, we tend to think in terms of text-based generative efforts, yet there are also image, media, and search engine tools now available. Thus presentations and video production processes should also be considered when viewing your teaching and learning activities. (Please check out our list of Generative-AI tools for these ever-increasing options.)

Creating Prompts

• Prompts are the inputs (most often text) that instruct Generative-AI tools to create a response. Thus, crafting a prompt is considered an essential skill when using these new tools.
• Open AI: Suggestions from Open AI for creating good prompts.
• The Art of the Prompt: Microsoft’s suggestions for "How to get the best out of generative AI."
• From the University of Sydney: How to perfect your prompt writiing for AI generators.
• EDUCAUSE QuickTalk: Prompt Engineering for AI-Enhanced Teaching and Learning. This EDUCAUSE talk is a members-only suite of resources, but since Thomas College is a member, simply create an account an you will gain access to this and other resources from this technology group.
• Prompt Perfect: This ChatGPT plug in replaces the input provided by a user to improve the quality of responses.
• And what would ChatGPT suggest?

Generative-AI in Various Fields

• Business – from AACSB The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Business Education
• From University Business – Instructors…need guidance from leaders
• Education – 3 articles from ISTE:
  • Artificial Intelligence Explorations and Their Practical Use in Schools
  • AI Exploration for Educators: Putting Educators and Students in the Driver’s Seat
  • Recent Articles
• Psychology – From APA: How to use ChatGPT as a learning tool
• For developments in your specific field, the professional organizations often have information targeted to both the use of AI and of Generative-AI in your area. A search of their websites will yield the focused information that you may be looking for.

Additional Resources

• Library Faculty Services

  Among other services for faculty, the library maintains a set of pages related to various aspects of Artificial Intelligence including general overviews, or go to a specific topic by selecting one of the following links.

• Course Policies Recommendations and Academic Integrity
• AI Tools and Resources
• AI Literacy
• The Intersection of AI and Education

Training and Professional Development

For further training and professional development opportunities please keep an eye out for email announcements. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Marilyn Hudzina