Strategies for Working with GAI
The fast evolution of GAI requires us to re-think the way we teach and the way we ask students to acquire, internalize, and create knowledge. A modern education requires students to focus on the process of their work as consumers and disseminators of knowledge. Ubiquitous technologies that can both help and hinder a student's educational experience demand that educators re-think how they teach, and what they ask students to accomplish.
Like any new technology, GAI can be unethically manipulated, and to combat this, educators must create assignments that minimize the potential for cheating. One proven way to do this is to tap into students' intrinsic motivation. Assignment prompts that do not have fixed answers and require students to engage deeply with content are most likely to discourage them from cheating. On this page are some strategies you can use to design courses and craft prompts that encourage genuine engagement and discourage cheating, with or without incorporating GAI.
Page Contents:
Working with GAI
GAI can be used successfully to enhance classroom teaching and learning, and reduce time spent on routine tasks.
How Faculty Can Work with GAI
- Create a draft syllabus.
- Generate ideas for an assignment. You can ask for a sample that discourages or minimizes use of GAI.
- Identify key players and debates on topics in the discipline for students to read and analyze.
- Compare a GAI-generated response to student writing if cheating is suspected. Simply enter your prompt into ChatGPT or Bard.
Allowing Students to Work with GAI
- Brainstorm research ideas or first drafts of research questions.
- Generate lists of keywords to use in database searching.
- Create an outline for an essay.
- Generate reading lists or bibliographies.
- Modeling or asking GAI to provide a sample of the type of work they are about to do themselves.
- Ask GAI to act as an editorial partner and suggest improvements to original work.
- Ask GAI to provide computer code examples and edit the code for readability by humans.
Classroom Prompts and GAI
Assignments and classroom exercises can be created to complement GAI. Conversely, unauthorized use of GAI can be prevented with prompts that require critical thinking and personal creativity. Whether or not you incorporate GAI in a given assignment, it can be useful to think in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy, which models domains of complexity in critical thinking. Whereas lower-order actions in Bloom's Taxonomy such as "define," "explain," and "describe" can make it easier for students to cheat, higher order actions, when used to create assignments that pair with library resources and personal and classroom experiences, can make cheating more difficult. Higher order action terms include:
- Apply
- Compare/Contrast
- Create or Design
- Critique/Criticize
- Formulate
- Hypothesize
- Interpret
- Justify
- Observe
- Predict
- Propose
- Recommend
Prompt Types
Some of the following examples of prompt types that can either minimize use of GAI or work with it were generated with ChatGPT (2023, August):
- Scenario-Based: Apply knowledge of a theory to a new scenario, providing insights, recommendations, or creative solutions.
- Freewriting: Ask students to write thoughts on a topic, including whatever they have learned about it, for a specified period of time, without using notes. As a reflection piece, this does not need to be grammatically correct or include sources.
- Opinion-Based Questions: Ask for personal opinions on a subject, backed by reasons and examples, possibly examining conflicting viewpoints.
- Compare and Contrast:
- Compare and contrast different concepts, theories, ideas, or methods using course readings and notes.
- Compare and contrast two or more scholarly resources that sit behind the library's firewall.
- Compare GAI-generated material with scholarly material from the library.
- Predict Outcomes: Make predictions based on provided information or a culmination of course knowledge.
- Pros and Cons: Have students list the pros and cons of a particular approach, idea, or solution.
Additional Prompt Types with UMass Global Examples
Here are additional prompt types along with assignment examples provided by UMass Global faculty. When fed into a generator, questions that ask students to reflect on personal values and ethics will usually provide general definitions of key terms along with "listicle" style responses such as those found on self-help guides, but usually will not articulate an answer that adequately addresses the prompt.
The background colors in the boxes below were selected by asking ChatGPT for the hex codes for light background colors.
Thought Experiments: Present a hypothetical situation and ask students to explore the implications, consequences, and/or ethical considerations. For example:
You are a geriatric social worker in private practice, and a new older client told you that her elderly husband has been regularly beating her after he drinks wine at night. You’ve noticed cuts and scratches on her face, arms, and legs, and a black eye. As you start to discuss immediate options with her, she becomes fearful and leaves your office, even though you have asked her to stay. What ethical issues immediately come to your mind after she has left? What action(s) should you take? --Zoila Gordon, BASW
Personal Connection: Ask students to relate the topic to personal experiences, interests, or goals. For example:
As a group leader working with multiple stressors, it is important for you to be mindful of your own level of stress. Share a recent stressful event with focus on the stress-producing thoughts that lead to uncomfortable emotions. Identify a new positive thought to replace the stress-producing thought. Which technique(s) do you think would work best for you? --Zoila Gordon, BASW
Self-Reflection: Reflect on one's own experiences, opinions, or perspectives. For example:
Human dignity and worth, social justice, and human rights are the cornerstone values of the social work profession. In what ways are professional values consonant with your personal values? --Zoila Gordon, BASW
Feedback Loop: Ask students to provide feedback on GAI-generated responses to a complicated theory or scenario. For example:
Use ChatGPT to help craft an Organizational Innovation Strategy. Then review and revise what ChatGPT provided. Then write a reflective analysis of how ChatGPT aided in the formulation of the innovation strategy. Discuss the benefits, limitations, and ethical considerations of using GAI in innovation processes. Click here for the complete prompt with rubric. --Andrea Munro, CII
Journaling: Ask students to respond to course readings or learning activities. For example:
After reviewing materials from Week 1, create an interactive journal entry (using Screencast-O-Matic or similar program) to compare and contrast project-based learning and problem-based learning. Describe which one you think is most effective for the science classroom and explain why. Give several examples of each type of learning. Explain how you might use project-based learning in your classroom. Your journal entry should be no less than 5 minutes long. --EDMU 525