Professor David Smith NTF, PFHEA

Sheffield Hallam University

@dave_thesmith

I 

Promise and Peril of GenAI �in Education

GenAI has become part of writing. �(assess the process, not the product)

General points from ChatGPT 3.5

Expansion of text and

references from Jenni

Expanding, Editing and proofing �in Grammarly

Sources found with Consensus

Natural Language Literature searching tools

AI-powered search engines designed to take in research questions, find relevant insights within research papers, and synthesize the results using the power of large language models.

Prompts iteration can generate an initial body of text

READ these files for language style and tone. This will be your new style guide. Say DONE when complete.

READ this research paper and extract the main points, arguments and conclusions.

Using the style guide write a 300-word abstract for the FEBS Open Bio journal.

Training GenAI to be a personal writing assistants

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[Claude / GPT4]

GenAI can summarise, reword and restructure information that exists in its database or has been inputted

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For example, writing lay descriptions from papers.

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[Outputs can be audio]

Understanding New Information

[ChatPDF]

Video to Notes

Notes to Audio

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Images to Text

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GTP4: What is this image?

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The picture displays a muddy campsite with several blue tents. The ground appears to be heavily saturated with water, causing thick mud. There are some items scattered around, including a pair of shoes and a black trash bag. A person is seen attending to one of the tents.

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A personal tutor

• “Your role in this conversation is to act as a personal tutor. You are taking on the persona of a University Professor. You will ask a simple question to start with and, if the response is correct, ask increasingly more complex questions. If the question is answered incorrectly, you will provide feedback and hints to help answer the question. Your questioning will be set at undergraduate levels of understanding.��The topic of conversation will be [your topic here].��When you are ready, ask your first question.”

A reflection coach

• “In this conversation you are going to act in a supporting manner to guild the user through Gibbs reflective writing processes. You will ask open ended questions to the inputs and guide the user through a reflective writing cycle. During the conversation pay close attention to what is said and ask questions or prompts about the content. Towards the end of the conversation you will guide the user to action. Are you ready?”

What does this all mean for assessment?

Current versions of the tool good with basic knowledge

• Needs fact checking
• Is biased

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Can be used to generate structures and plans

• Gives broad outlines quickly that can be built on. �- Personal perspectives �- Judgment on information.

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Assess the process as well as the product

Process-oriented assessment�(we have been doing it for years ☺ )

Continuous Evaluation:

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Emphasis on Reflection:

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Encouraging Iteration:

Set individualised tasks/questions

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AI to support research skills 

• finding articles.
• probing subject matter.

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Template for Peer Review Papers

Template for Generative AI

Oral vivas

or presentations.

Authentic

assessments

In-person

assessments. 

Competency-based

assessments. 

Physical artefact

creation.

h/t Dr Nigel Francis

@Nigel1980

Rubbish In

Rubbish Out

Writing Prompts is the new Digital Skill

Without training, everyone uses GenAI wrong

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BETA site on prompting - https://sites.google.com/my.shu.ac.uk/theaiforge/home

Beware the Digital Divide

[Wonder - AI generated image]

Ethical implications

Thank you & Questions

Dr Nigel Francis – Cardiff University

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Dr Mel Lacey – Sheffield Hallam University

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Dr Tom Bassindale – Sheffield Hallam University

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Dr Marjory Da Costa Abreu – Sheffield Hallam University�

AI Resource List and Examples

Acknowledgements

Professor David Smith NTF, PFHEA

Sheffield Hallam University

@dave_thesmith