Feedback is one of the most important influences on learning, and providing it is one of an instructor’s most important duties. But it’s no secret that many, if not most, faculty consider providing students with feedback to be drudgery. AI provides a way to offload
Many of us worry that generative AI will do students’ thinking for them. But what if the process of generating AI content—in this case, an image—actually forces a deeper level of critical analysis? To facilitate critical thinking skills about AI, we designed an assignment that
While AI is being used to make self-tests, study aids, and a wide range of other learning materials, tutoring systems have arguably the most potential to improve student understanding and performance. Programmed to mimic human tutors, these systems engage in a Socratic dialogue with the
Every time a student submits work that doesn’t reflect what you know about them, you face the same impossible task: proving something that was designed to be unprovable. AI detection tools offer a number, not an answer. Formal academic integrity processes demand evidence that, in
AI has opened a world of new opportunities for student learning. I have discussed how instructors can easily add interactions to their learning material, tutors to their classroom, and digital laboratory simulations that allow students to test how a process changes with different inputs. But
During a recent interview for a longitudinal study on undergraduate writing and learning that I am conducting at my school, one student described a course he was currently taking with a professor he admired deeply. He spoke warmly about the instructor’s passion, clarity, and care
Large language models can explain concepts, summarize readings, and even generate practice problems. But developing professional expertise—the kind of strategic thinking, judgment, and problem-solving that distinguishes novices from experts—requires more than content delivery. It requires coaching. When we wanted to give students more access to
Faculty and institutions are using AI to create educational material and tutors that help students learn the material. These are text-based interactions. But AI can also build digital simulations that allow students to experiment with different variables to learn how they affect processes. This ability
We often hear faculty complain that students are not reading the course material. Studies consistently report low rates of reading compliance across disciplines, with students citing time pressures, unclear purpose, perceived irrelevance, and weak accountability structures as reasons for skipping assigned materials (Hoeft, 2012; Brost
Every teacher knows the challenge: Students complete homework at 9:00 p.m., get stuck, and have to wait until the next day’s class for help. By then, you’re facing a mountain of assignments that all show the same misconception.
