AI Literacy in the Age of ChatGPT (Faculty Guide )

All of us need to become AI literate in order to harness the strengths of AI in our work and to guide students in its use.

AI literacy is the ability to:

• Know & understand

  - The basic functions and how to use it

• Use & apply AI

  - AI knowledge concepts and applications in different scenarios (Using AI as a tutor, as a reviewer of your work, etc.)

• Evaluate & create with or in AI

  - Evaluate the bias and accuracy of AI-produced content; create with tools that use AI technology or create AI-based tools

• Understand AI ethics

  - Think about human-centered considerations like fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy, ethics, safety

Thinking about ChatGPT as a pedagogy problem, rather than a plagiarism problem, is a way to approach teaching generatively.

For example, scaffolding mitigates library anxiety, imposter syndrome, and accidental plagiarism. Therefore, rather than assigning a big, summative paper or project at the end of the course, breaking it up into stages with student reflection reinforces original work and a growth mindset that can reduce the perceived need for students using a tool such as ChatGPT.

Getting Started

Here are two great resources to help you get started:

Use these documents to guide the language you write into your syllabus:

Since generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are still relatively new to higher education, many students may be unaware of what is allowed or not allowed in a particular course. Since there is no general college policy on AI use, the rules might differ from one course to the next.

Dispel ambiguity or uncertainty by communicating clearly with students

Consider, for example:

• Including a statement in your syllabus that outlines whether (or not) and how AI tools can be used in your course. See examples below.
• Having conversations as a class about appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI tools in the course or disciplinary context.
• Asking students to sign and adhere to an "honor statement" or code of conduct based on key course/institutional policies.
• Constructing a "group agreements" document with your class that can be amended and referred back to throughout the semester.
• Sharing examples from your discipline of how inappropriate use of AI led to negative consequences.
• Sharing examples of how generative AI tools are changing your discipline or creating new opportunities for innovation.
• Clarifying learning outcomes in the course so that students understand which essential skills they need to be able to demonstrate without the use of AI.

Attribution: "Syllabus Statements" by Camosun College Library is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Tips for talking about generative AI

Because learning to use AI appropriately and ethically is now part of information literacy, you should talk with students about it and its use often throughout the class. The ASCCC tells us that "For students to be successful and ethical in the use of AI, expectations need to be clear. We must help students understand the appropriate use, limitations, biases, and effective techniques of using AI efficiently" (2).

Be specific in how you allow use of generative AI

Will you allow students to use AI to help brainstorm ideas or come up with a topic for an assignment? Will you allow them to use it to summarize or explain complex concepts? Will you allow them to use it for writing and editing? Will you allow them to use AI at all? If you do not allow the use of AI, know that your students will probably use it anyway without the benefit of having learned how to use it effectively and ethically. 

Make sure students know how to give credit

APA Style, MLA Style, and Chicago Style all have guidelines for citing generative AI. See Citing Generative AI.

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ASCCC Educational Policies Committee. "Academic Integrity Policies in the Age of Artificial  Intelligence (AI) Resource Document." Spring 2024. 

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, asccc.org/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024. 

Use these tools below to learn more about issues and ways to incorporate AI in your pedagogy.