Artificial Intelligence Use in Education

“What I do have a problem with and will not allow--if I can detect it--is a student allowing AI to write a complete assignment. While in the workplace the goal might be to generate a finished product, with little regard for the skill acquisition of the person charged with the task, in a college course, students are tasked with assignments (essays, research papers, statistical model construction) so they can LEARN by completing these tasks. No student is doing me a favor by writing an essay; the writing process is a benefit to the student. In completing a writing assignment, students learn how to gather information, organize it in a coherent way, and to express their thoughts in an understandable and convincing way. So to use AI to complete an assignment in its totality is to cheat oneself of the learning that should be happening.” - Dr. Rose,Economics

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“Tools like Grammarly and ChatGPT provide instant feedback on grammar, clarity, and tone, allowing students to understand and correct mistakes in real-time. This immediate feedback loop can be especially helpful for English language learners or students with learning differences. AI tools can serve as tutors outside the classroom, helping students review difficult concepts, generate ideas, and test understanding through question-and-answer interactions. This can lead to increased engagement and ownership over learning. I fear that students may become too dependent on AI-generated answers, using them to complete assignments without truly understanding the material. This could result in a decline in critical thinking and problem-solving abilities over time.” - Professor Yanovich, Program Director of Computer & Information Systems (CIS).

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“Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as Chat GPT have advanced very quickly in the last few years. Their ease of use undoubtedly makes them tempting time-savers. However, in my Core English course, using this kind of technology robs you of the valuable experiences of brainstorming your own ideas, of putting those ideas into words, and of developing your own distinct voice as a writer. Because this class focuses on literature and writing, using AI tools to generate any sentences or paragraphs in your essays will not be allowed. Furthermore, replacing reading a primary text of literature (e.g, story, poem, autobiography) with an AI summary of the literature is unacceptable and will not yield good outcomes on your daily assignments and projects." - Professor Coniglio, Student Success Coordinator.

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“AI can be an incredibly powerful tool, but to harness that power effectively, we must know how to use it to our benefit and not to our detriment. Consequently, I think it is important that our curriculum teach students how to use AI effectively, efficiently, and ethically. When students use AI to do work for them that they should but cannot or will not do, then AI becomes an impediment to learning. If you can’t write clearly and effectively, having AI write a paper for you is not only unethical, it is an impediment to your own learning. You won’t ever learn to write that way. Students must develop skills and then use AI to help hone those skills." - Dr. Field, English Department.

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"AI can be an incredibly powerful tool, but to harness that power effectively, we must know how to use it to our benefit and not to our detriment. Consequently, I think it is important that our curriculum teach students how to use AI effectively, efficiently, and ethically. When students use AI to do work for them that they should but cannot or will not do, then AI becomes an impediment to learning. If you can’t write clearly and effectively, having AI write a paper for you is not only unethical, it is an impediment to your own learning. You won’t ever learn to write that way. Students must develop skills and then use AI to help hone those skills."" - Dr.Sterling, Professor of English.

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“AI can be a powerful tool that identifies patterns in large datasets faster and more efficiently than manual processing by an individual. I support the ethical use of AI in academic settings to complete manual repetitive tasks. Faculty could educate students on how to use AI for pattern recognition and shift their time to focus more on developing higher level analytical decision-making skills that students will need to be successful future accounting and business leaders." - Dr.Shawver, Professor of Accounting.

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“AI tools are very tempting for college students, as they can produce text in minutes on tasks that would take the students hours to produce on their own. However, most of the work students do in college classes requires thinking, and when they use AI to skip the thinking steps, they are not earning the credits carried by the classes in which they are enrolled. If students use these short cuts for multiple classes, they would potentially not be earning their degrees, a serious ethical problem for both students and colleges. There are some important ways that AI can make college students work more efficient, but it is vital that they not abandon the thinking part of the process along the way. Most students do not have enough experience with academic work to figure out on their own when they have crossed the line between making work more efficient and using AI unethically. Faculty have a responsibility to help students understand this line." - Dr.McClinton, Professor of English, English Department

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"As I mentioned, all my syllabi tell students that their work products - the work they turn in for assignments, essays, exams, discussions, etc. – should be their own personal work and not utilize artificial intelligence or any other resources to compile this work.
However, in my FIN450 Entrepreneurial Finance course I do have an assignment where I instruct students that they can use any resource, including artificial intelligence to complete this assignment. The assignment requires them to research the details of all rounds of capital funding with investors, debtors, etc. for WeWork since the company was founded to current day. Since this information is not publicly available, the assignment teaches them to be cautious of artificial intelligence and how it will attempt to answer any question you pose to it, even if that requires it to make up information. In our class session where we discuss the output of the assignment, I ask students who used ChatGPT or AI to type in the same question and we compare the answers that each student receives – which are often very different from one another and not factually accurate. It demonstrates the importance of understanding the limitations of AI, the critical step of a human mind validating the output from AI with a reliable source, and the paramount appreciation for human intelligence, its capabilities, and inability to be replaced by AI" - Dr.Rayeski, Assistant Professor of Accounting

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"AI can be beneficial if taught correctly to enhance the curriculum. We have added it as a component to our schools’ professional development program." — District administrator for curriculum/instruction | New Jersey

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“I think AI is a super interesting new technology that is emerging and has great propensity to change the world in which we live. I think it can also be a double-edged sword if we are not careful and do not tread lightly. We must avoid at all costs it replacing teachers as it does have the propensity to do so." — Elementary school principal | Texas

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"I believe students already have too many readily available resources, such as answers to tests, essays, reports, etc. AI just makes it even easier for students to gain answers without gaining knowledge." — High school teacher | Missouri

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"Schools will need to engage in deep discussions of what students should know and be able to do in the new era of AI. I think AI will push making education more relevant to the individual student, and the knowledge and skill s/he will need to transact with his/her life circumstances." — District superintendent | California

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"It serves as the spark to ignite my students' curiosity and creativity to further ideate. This is especially true for students who lack resources and experience. I see AI as a tool that levels the playing field for all my students.” — George Lee, high school teacher, San Francisco

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"I think AI is a super interesting new technology that is emerging and has great propensity to change the world in which we live. I think it can also be a double-edged sword if we are not careful and do not tread lightly. We must avoid at all costs it replacing teachers as it does have the propensity to do so." — Elementary school principal | Texas

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"Students don’t understand that the production of language requires processing ideas into logos and messages that require linguistic structures, and the act of translating an essay is using technology to misrepresent your very own linguistic abilities and processing,” Goldberger said. — Mirna Goldberger, Upper School Spanish Teacher.

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"I personally feel that AI allows both students and teachers to find the easiest way to complete a task without learning or being challenged to learn anything at all,” - social studies teacher, high school, from North Carolina

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