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Beat the Machine?

Exploring ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning

Liz Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

Faculty Institute 2023

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What this session will do

  1. Help you identify some of the characteristics of AI writing
  2. Demonstrate the effectiveness of AI writing detectors
  3. Offer a space to discuss experiences with AI in the classroom

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What this session will not do

  • Teach you everything you need to know about ChatGPT and AI
  • Provide tidy solutions to potential issues
  • Constitute the end of the conversation

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Group Activity

  1. Assign roles (5 minutes)

–timekeeper: born farthest away from NEIU

–recorder: born closest to NEIU

–reporter: woke up earliest today

  • Individually read all three passages (7 minutes)
  • As a group, determine (15 minutes)

–which two passages were written by AI

–which passage was written by an actual student

–how you arrived at your guesses

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Share out

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Common Characteristics of AI Writing

  • Contains factual errors
  • Cites made-up sources
  • Inconsistent with assignment guidelines
  • Atypically correct in grammar, usage, and editing
  • Voiceless and impersonal (strong intro & conclusion sentences)
  • Predictable: “On the one hand, many people believe X is terrible; on the other hand, many people believe X is wonderful.”

From “AI Writing Detection: Red Flags”

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Strategies for Responding

  • Explore with students how AI tools work, especially by experimenting with them. What do they do well? What are their limitations? Where are they deriving their information from?
  • If you’re looking for students to recall or summarize material, consider annotation tools like Hypothesis
  • Ask students to relate topics to their own lives
  • Ask students to create mind maps, videos, or other representations of their knowledge
  • Make use of Google Docs, which can show the editing history of a document
  • Scaffold writing assignments: in-class writing, proposals, outlines, annotated bibliographies, paper chunks, writing conferences

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The First Week of Class

  1. Perform an in-class writing diagnostic
  2. Discuss and document your stance on using AI with your students
  3. Help students set goals for your class

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CTL’s Sample Statement for Syllabi

Submission of assignments using generative AI including ChatGPT and similar technologies are forms of academic dishonesty. To maintain a culture of academic integrity, students are to refrain from using AI tools in this course unless with the express permission of the instructor. In those situations when the instructor has approved the use of AI, the following guidelines are in place:

  1. Provide transparency about the use of any AI tool by disclosing that this tool has been used to generate ideas or write portions of the assignment.
  2. Use such tools as a supplement to and not a replacement for one’s own work.
  3. Ensure appropriate citation of the AI source by including (a) the prompt or prompts provided to the tool, (b) the name of the tool (e.g., ChatGPT), (c) the date when the tool was used, and (d) the associated URL. (e.g., prompt: describe how vector marketing works. ChatGPT, 14, June. Version, OpenAI, chat.openai.com at https://chat.openai.com/share/901dbfa0-88b4-401e-bf6f-541acd6a1caf)
  4. Demonstrate awareness that these tools have limitations including biases and errors by double-checking and verifying the accuracy of any content generated by using this tool.
  5. Seek assistance from the course instructor when in doubt about how to use AI tools ethically.

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