Check Your Assignments - Are they too easy for AI
Essays that focus on recalling or reporting information are no longer meaningful assignments. The AI, or a Google search, will answer these prompts. That means that the assessment is no longer meaningful. Assignments that require reflection, on the class, on the lecture, on the text, on self, those cannot be replaced by AI (yet, but that is a longer conversation). Writing assessments need to be geared toward research or creativity, in which flection plays a part.
Keep Perspective On AI Writing Assignments
Prompt Writing / Prompt Engineering
The AI was trained on books and novels; huge amounts. Most current AIs tend to write like an author or narrator. To get the most out of the AI, it is then, sometimes best to not ask it a question, but to set up a story. There are three parts to creating these types of prompts: create a believable character, use flattery to make the character better than most people, but not overly perfect, and then finish the prompt as an opening of dialogue. With that prompt, also be sure to keep clarity, conciseness, and specificity.
Don't do this: What are ten uses of a frying pan?
Do this: Paul, a culinary arts student, asked his instructor, "Chef, what are the many uses of a frying pan?" And the Chef responded...
Hint: don't overdo the flattery because, in literature and movies, someone that is too good at something often has flaws; too smart and they make common mistakes, too athletic, and they trip, too righteous and they sin. The AI will see a "perfect" character and present their flaw, even if you don't ask for it. Sometimes the AI "mistake" is because it is narrating a character flaw.
Prompt Engineering According to Anthropic (Claude) - 11.24
Some Potential Uses of AI in the Academy
The following are some potential uses of AI. Obviously, some of these could be misuses of AI and violations of academic integrity. If you allow AI use in a course, make sure that the student know the boundaries between use and misuse. Any use of AI should be explicate in your instructions and use by the student should be explicitly stated / cited in the work.
Evaluation
Current generative AIs were trained to write fluently, not factually.
As such, both students and faculty need to evaluate what is written. For students, they need to evaluate the factual nature of their resources. For them, a CRAAP form gives them a checklist to check the currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose of a resource. For faculty, they need to determine what was the work of the student and what was the work of the AI. For them, I produced a somewhat sarcastic checklist to help determine what was AI and what was human.