Using Generative AI to Enhance Student Learning

Last updated on August 21, 2024

Many students already use Generative AI in various ways, such as summarizing and paraphrasing text, organizing their schedules, assisting with homework, and understanding difficult concepts. For instructors, this can be both a challenge and an opportunity. While there are valid concerns about GenAI and academic integrity, GenAI also has the potential to enhance research skills, foster creativity, and develop critical thinking.  

This is a significant shift in how we approach teaching and learning in higher education.

By working towards integrating GenAI into our teaching practices, we can help students engage more deeply with the material. This means creating assignments that encourage critical thinking with GenAI, reflecting on the learning process, and understanding the material. Guiding students to use GenAI responsibly ensures that it complements their learning rather than detracts from it. With this approach, we can turn potential challenges into powerful teaching tools, preparing students for educational experiences and their professional futures.

Try encouraging students to explore the possibilities offered by GenAI while emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Here are some examples:

• Integrate GenAI Tools for Research: Provide students with opportunities to use GenAI tools to conduct comprehensive literature reviews, gather diverse resources, and synthesize information to support their arguments.
• GenAI-Assisted Data Analysis: Design assignments requiring students to use AI to analyze complex datasets, interpret results, and draw informed conclusions.
• Critical Evaluation of GenAI Outputs: Assign tasks where students critically evaluate the outputs generated by GenAI tools, identifying any biases, errors, or limitations in the GenAI-generated content.

How can we teach ethical GenAI use to students?

Encourage your students to use GenAI ethically and responsibly to gain long-term benefits in academia and the professional world.

• Communicate your GenAI policies to students as soon as possible. The best places to do this are in your syllabus using the language recommended by MSU Denver’s Provost, and again in each assignment. When you give clear guidelines and avenues for responsible and ethical use, they are less likely to rely entirely on GenAI to generate responses to assignments.
• Show–don’t just tell them–what responsible GenAI use looks like. Give them a sample prompt tailored to the subject you teach, including the prompt you entered and the content it produced. For example:
  • A sample prompt on how to ask it to draft an attention-grabbing introduction to your research paper (for a liberal arts course).
  • A sample prompt to help structure a lab report (for a biology course).

How can I encourage GenAI use that complements learning?

GenAI is an emerging technology and much of its potential still needs to be realized. As educators, we want to encourage students to use GenAI to complement their learning instead of replacing it.

• While GenAI is not a replacement for academic mentoring, it is available 24/7 and can provide useful guidance when other resources are not immediately available.
• To increase the alignment with the scope of the course, encourage students to include course and module-level learning objectives and specific assessment instructions in their prompts. 
• Students can use generative GenAI to build a customized learning plan that targets their weaknesses and guides practice to strengthen them. 
• Facilitate opportunities for them to share insights, collaborate on projects, and collectively explore the potential of GenAI.

Let’s walk through it together

Click here to view the images and resources used within the video.

Using GenAI in learning assessments

Please review the list below of possible use cases for GenAI in assessments and choose one that best suits your course. 

• Ask students to submit a log of their GenAI interactions to help you assess how they are using and engaging with the tool.
• Assess their ability to integrate this output with their own knowledge and the course materials.
• Include a reflective essay or journal entry where students discuss how they used GenAI, what they learned, and how it affected their approach to the assignment.
• Look for signs the student has customized the GenAI-generated content, such as by having students use color-coded drafts to differentiate between GenAI output and their writing. Look for the integration of their insights, examples, and research. This approach helps distinguish between mere copying and genuine thought development and learning.

Giving feedback on GenAI assessments

GenAI can enhance the way your students receive feedback. Check out the list of examples of how feedback can be optimized with GenAI below.

• Provide feedback that prompts students to reflect on their use of GenAI. Ask them to consider how it influenced their thinking and whether it helped them see the topic from new perspectives.
• Guide students on how to:
  • Strengthen their arguments: Have students leverage GenAI to generate potential counterarguments, allowing them to anticipate and address opposing viewpoints in their work.
  • Enhance their research: GenAI can suggest research topics or questions based on current trends or gaps in information.
  • Refine their critical thinking: GenAI can create complex simulations or scenarios that require students to apply critical thinking skills to solve problems or make decisions.
• Have students evaluate each other’s work and use of GenAI when using group assignments or peer reviews. This helps them learn from one another and encourages them to apply a critical lens to both their work and that of their peers.

Embracing GenAI for future job markets

• It’s crucial to view GenAI as a tool for our future. Embracing its potential to save time and streamline work processes can increase efficiency and productivity.
• Emphasize the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and leveraging GenAI to complement human skills.

Artificial Intelligence for All at MSU Denver

Be sure to check out MSU Denver’s dedicated resource designed specifically to help the MSU Denver community discover the practical and innovative uses of artificial intelligence (AI), AI For All.

Further Resources

• Using Generative AI to Enhance Student Learning Resources and Prompt Examples
• As an MSU Denver employee, you have access to Microsoft Copilot.
• Use Microsoft Copilot – this tutorial covers the basic use of Copilot, such as entering prompts and using the interface.
• Start Using Generative AI in Your Course – this spotlight offers practical concerns and best practices when using GenAI in education.
• Copilot Example Showcase – this showcase is a collection of practical demonstrations of using Copilot.
• Consider Academic Integrity with AI