It is highly likely that in at least one of your courses, a professor has spoken about policies regarding artificial intelligence. It is almost certain that all your course syllabi contain a statement about academic integrity and the use of ChatGPT. Over the past few years, AI has grown in its capacity to produce full essays and responses to given questions. AI has changed the way that professors organize their courses and has brought into classrooms the question of academic integrity.
It is no surprise that many students across the globe use AI to take advantage of a quick and easy way to complete their coursework. However, it has also brought with it changes in teacher-student relationships including the fear of being accused of using AI. Sophomore Gabriel Krauseifin-Grossman, MCAS/LSEHD ‘27, spoke about this in his research last semester for his Introduction to Education course. He interviewed various Boston College professors about their views and policies regarding the use of AI and found, a “Kind of problematic culture where there are a lot more accusations, and I think students are pretty scared of being accused or falsely accused [of using AI in coursework].”
On the other hand, professors have also expressed concerns not about the technology itself, but what it means for students’ education. “It’s really academic integrity that’s the issue,” says Brian Smith, the Honorable David Nelson Professor in the Lynch School. When ChatGPT becomes an available resource for students, it risks the educational benefit of the learning process as a whole. AI has the potential to hinder students’ incentive to learn to conduct their own research, evaluate sources, and employ their creativity through their writing. Further, AI is limited in its ability to provide credible, accurate, and reliable sources for students to refer back to, and therefore, normalizes plagiarism in the academic world.
BC has not made any official statement regarding the use of AI in its classrooms. Whether or not to allow generative AI has been left up to each individual professor. While AI’s role may be left up to each respective professor, many departments such as the Department of Romance Languages, comply with the university’s policy of upholding academic integrity and therefore interpret the use of GenAI as plagiarism. In his research, Krauseifin-Grossman found that while professors’ responses to AI varied, most understood that regardless of their policies, students will use AI. Professor Kevin Powers, the director of BC Law’s new Master of Legal Studies (MLS) in Cybersecurity, emphasized the importance of teaching AI literacy. In teaching his own graduate students in the law school, Powers sees AI as a tool that can help them achieve success. Rather than a complete ban on ChatGPT in classrooms, setting policies and providing education on how to effectively use AI can encourage students to use AI more beneficially.
This era of new technology has also brought with it shifts in how professors teach their courses. For many, AI has stressed the importance of making classes more student-centered. In his research, Krauseifin-Grossman found that many professors have increased their focus on making sure their course content is engaging due to the growth in AI. Professors have begun asking, “How do you structure assignments to make students less likely to use it and more likely to deeply engage in the course?” In an article written for BC’s Digital Learning Design Toolkit, Professor John Fitzgibbon shared his reflections on AI. “Acknowledging the presence of AI forced me to make changes to my teaching that I should have made a long time ago. It also pushed me to do something that I have never been good at as a teacher – to trust my students.”
Some Professors have encouraged class discussions around artificial intelligence and used it to promote course topics. In Professor Sylvia Sellers-Garcia’s “Mexico Between Fact and Fiction” course she used ChatGPT in the classroom to ask students to critique AI’s work. By having students suggest what ChatGPT could do better, Garcia facilitates conversations about the strengths, weaknesses, and concerns relating to AI. “There was a sense of palpable relief among the students that were having the conversation,” she says.
The challenges posed by AI have also changed the way Professors assign midterms and finals. The shift from essays to projects and presentations is not merely aimed at minimizing cheating, but at encouraging the learning process. Responding to original, creative student work is more important than grading a mere product.
Students are not the only ones who can benefit from the use of AI. In his interviews with professors at BC, Krauseifin-Grossman found that AI allowed for “the capacity to help professors be better teachers.” Professors can use AI chat boxes to assist them in grading and critiquing student work. When prompted, chat boxes can evaluate student work based on the professor’s syllabi, assignment expectations and requirements, and rubrics. AI would not replace a professor’s grading but rather speed up the process by providing valuable feedback.
Artificial intelligence can be used for cheating, but it can also be an important tool in the classroom. ChatGPT can be instructed by professors to provide students with certain feedback and assistance based on learning outcomes. Looking to the future, AI has the potential to play specific roles in class exercises and homework support. By “guiding them towards solutions” AI can encourage students to engage in thought processes and deductive reasoning by facilitating this process. According to Tim Lindgren, the assistant director for BC’s Center for Digital Innovation in Learning, there are four valuable roles for the future of AI in education: course assistant, assignment tutor, process coach, and reflective guide.
Lindgren suggests that as a course assistant, AI has the capacity to assist students in finding important course information and deadlines. It also has the potential to help students with assignments by getting students to ask critical questions rather than giving them answers. As a process coach, Lindgren envisions AI facilitating students’ projects by providing input at each critical step. Lastly, AI can be a support for students engaging in reflective questioning and consideration of what effective learning looks like for them.
A world where technology can take over student responsibilities is one that has evoked anxiety in institutions of higher education. However, the problem doesn’t lie in artificial intelligence, but rather in approaching the technology in a way that can be beneficial for the future of learning. Yes, AI can write essays and solve math problems, but it can also take on the roles and responsibilities that we assign it. The burden is on us, as a university and as students, to use AI to our advantage– to further educational outcomes– rather than hinder it.
Matcha and coffee enthusiast with a love for all things mystery and true crime.
