AI Literacy & Help Guide

Assignment ideas

Assignments must have a high intrinsic value if students are to be motivated to complete and learn from them. 

How do you Create Intrinsic Motivation in Students?

I Care 

You want students to care about the assignment, so there must be a purpose to it. You want to state why it is important to learn this skill and how it could positively impact your future career.  

I Can 

You want students to feel like they can accomplish this goal. You want them to have a high self-efficacy. 

• Self-efficacy is a person’s belief that they can perform tasks correctly and reach the desired outcome. Your self-efficacy changes depending on the subject domain. Having students develop a mastery of skills will increase their self-efficacy.  

• To increase self-efficacy, start with smaller problems and slowly build into more complex problems. Also, give positive feedback and reinforcement.   

I Matter 

• “We will need to make the value of the student ideas and voice more visible” (Bowen and Watson, 2024, p. 186).  

• When designing assignments, exercises, or assessment items be sure to emphasize how successfully learning this skill will improve your understanding and help you on the job market (José Antonio Bowen & C. Edward Watson, 2024.)

Questions to Address when creating an AI Assignment

(Bowen and Watson, 2024, p. 187) 

Promoting the ethical and effective use of AI in academic settings requires thoughtfully designed assignments that encourage students to engage critically with AI tools while upholding academic integrity. Here are several assignment ideas aimed at fostering safe AI usage without leading to plagiarism:

1. AI-Assisted Research Projects

Encourage students to utilize AI tools for preliminary research, such as generating topic ideas or creating outlines. Require them to document how they used the AI, including prompts and outputs, and to critically assess the tool's contributions versus their own. This practice promotes transparency and helps students understand the distinction between AI assistance and original work.

2. Reflective AI Use Journals

Have students maintain a journal throughout the course, recording instances where they employed AI tools in their assignments. They should reflect on the ethical considerations, the accuracy of AI-generated content, and how it influenced their learning process. This continuous reflection fosters ethical awareness and personal accountability.

3. Collaborative AI Ethics Debates

Organize debates where students are divided into groups to discuss the ethical implications of AI in academia. Topics could include the potential for AI to enhance learning versus the risks of dependency and plagiarism. This format encourages critical thinking and a deeper understanding of responsible AI use.

4. Scaffolded Assignments with AI Integration

Design multi-phase assignments where AI tools are permitted in specific stages, such as brainstorming or drafting, but require students to refine and finalize their work independently. This approach teaches students how to leverage AI as a supportive tool without over-reliance.

5. AI Output Analysis and Critique

Provide students with AI-generated content related to their field of study and ask them to critique its accuracy, coherence, and relevance. This task develops evaluative skills and highlights the importance of human judgment in conjunction with AI assistance.

6. Development of AI Usage Guidelines

Assign students the task of creating a set of guidelines for ethical AI use within academic work. This could involve researching existing policies, understanding the potential pitfalls of AI misuse, and proposing strategies to prevent plagiarism. Engaging in this process empowers students to take ownership of ethical standards in their academic community.

Implementing these assignments can help cultivate a learning environment where AI is used responsibly, enhancing educational experiences while maintaining academic integrity.