by Flower Darby<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full article linked here.<\/a> Excerpts below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This technology does, indeed, raise\u00a0important ethical<\/a>\u00a0and educational concerns that should not be easily dismissed. Yet as\u00a0Marc Watkins<\/a>\u00a0recently\u00a0wrote:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cDoes anyone really think we\u2019re going to make it through this without doing the hard work of talking about AI with our students?\u201d Neglecting to equip your students with AI literacy and skills\u00a0does them a disservice<\/a>. But it\u2019s hard to talk meaningfully about something with which you have little direct experience. Which is why I\u00a0encourage faculty skeptics to start using AI<\/a>\u00a0in their own work and in their classrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n … As academics, one of our superpowers is to critically analyze and push back on new ideas. It\u2019s in our nature to do so, before we can move forward productively. But many of us are more resistant than usual when it comes to integrating AI in our teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n … AI is\u00a0here to stay<\/a>, and it will require changes to beloved traditions of college teaching. While some academics are embracing that fact and integrating AI into their courses in amazing and powerful ways, many others see it entirely as a negative for the profession and are\u00a0experiencing the five stages of grief<\/u><\/a>. It\u2019s good to process those emotions. But while you\u2019re doing so, why not take small steps toward our AI future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the lead author of\u00a0Small Teaching Online<\/u><\/em>,<\/u><\/a>\u00a0I\u2019ve fully embraced James M. Lang\u2019s ideas on the importance of\u00a0small changes in teaching<\/a>. Here, then, are five small steps to begin moving past denial, anger, and depression and toward some level of acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, ask an AI tool to create an icebreaker for class. Here\u2019s a simple prompt I used this fall: \u201cIn your role as a professor of social psychology teaching an undergraduate class, please create an icebreaker that students can do in groups of four. It should be inclusive of neurodivergent students and students with differing abilities, and should introduce today\u2019s topic: social cognition. The activity should take about 5 minutes.\u201d After the chatbot complied, I made this follow-up request: \u201cRecall that you teach a large-enrollment class. You have 62 groups of students. Create a unique two-sentence scenario for each group that builds on the icebreaker and is relevant to students ages 19 to 25. Provide three discussion and application questions for each scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In less than five minutes, I had the beginnings of an inclusive, interactive class session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Reduce learning bottlenecks with AI.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask ChatGPT to generate multiple examples or devise extra quiz questions about a difficult concept. Ask it to simplify the concept or to relate it to current events or pop culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better yet, show your students how to do that for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Require students to read up on the subject.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re feeling ill-prepared to teach AI literacy, I have an easy solution: Assign them to read the new \u201cStudent Guide to Artificial Intelligence<\/a>,\u201d recently published by Elon University and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Written specifically for college students, it is intended to help them understand how to use AI thoughtfully and appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Ask them to create and critique a piece of bot-generated content.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Make an \u201cAI sandwich.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n