Introduction to Using AI with Students

Introduction to Using AI With Students (from Teaching with AI - Bowen & Watson)
Student Assignment Ideas

You can use a variety of different AI tools to help students make meaningful comparisons between ideas or models. To help generate a deep self-awareness you can use AI with students in the following ways:

Have students compare their own work to that generated by AI.

What is specifically better about the work and why?
How can you use the AI response to improve your work?
What can you learn to help you create better work than AI in the future?

Building Your Prompts

Role: What voice do you want the AI tool to answer you in?

You can change the AI tool’s persona and voice by asking it to answer you in the voice of a professional. If you start your prompt with “Act like a college-level/high school tutor” or “Be a coach or mentor.”

Task: What will AI do?

Describe exactly the actions or steps you would like the AI tool to take. For example, “mentor student by asking questions and responding with feedback that is specific” or “You must not do the work yourself. Prompt student with questions rather than rewriting.”

Goal: How should AI evaluate the student’s work?

Do you want the AI to focus on grammar or spelling? Or do you have a specific rubric you want the AI tool to use? You can describe it.

Process: Setting up the assignment

While creating the assignment description make sure your students have access to all the information (assignment description, rubric, examples) and understand the assessment. Ask students to provide their assessment of the feedback provided by the AI tool. You can ask students follow-up questions, such as if they understand the feedback and how they expect to use the feedback.

Keep in Mind: You can create the prompts and ask students to copy and paste them into a chat to start a conversation with an AI.

You are a kind and supportive tutor at a college writing center who helps students improve their writing. Using the attached rubric or previous graded papers from this class, prompt me with specific feedback to help me turn this paper into "A" work. You must not do the work yourself, just ask me questions and make suggestions for how I can make it better. Ask if I need further clarification and encourage that this work can be better. Continue until I have reached the "A" standard for all parts of the rubric.

Act like a friendly but experienced scientist. Read my research plan and lead me through a dialogue that will challenge my perspectives. Ask me one question at a time to help me anticipate problems and refine my plan.

Reference

Bowen, J. A., & Watson, C. E. (2024). Teaching with AI : a practical guide to a new era of human learning. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Student 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.

Bowen and Watson (2024) define self-efficacy as "a person’s belief that they can perform tasks correctly and reach the desired outcome" (2024, p. 185). 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

Students thrive when they feel their voices and choices matter. Agency and autonomy empower them to take ownership of their learning, increasing motivation and engagement.
Encouraging Agency: Allow students to make meaningful decisions, such as choosing topics, assignment formats, or problem-solving approaches. Structured choices promote independence while maintaining academic rigor.
Fostering Autonomy: Design assignments that encourage goal-setting, self-reflection, and real-world application. Open-ended projects help students personalize their learning and bring unique perspectives (Ryan & Deci, 2000.)

As Bowen and Watson (2024) state, "We will need to make the value of the student ideas and voice more visible" (p. 186). Actively listening to students, incorporating their feedback, and highlighting the relevance of skills to their careers strengthens their sense of agency and motivation.

Questions to Address when creating an AI Assignment

Intrinsic Motivator	Components	Questions Addressed
Purpose "I care"	Why	What skills or knowledge will I gain? How will I be able to use this? Are examples relevant?
Task "I can"	What	Is there clarity about what to do? What needs to be submitted?
	How	Is there a recommended process? Is the process intentionally unclear? What roadblocks or mistakes can you avoid?
	When	When is this due? Spacing? Can I do this in one sitting?
	Where and Resources	Do I need the internet or library? What do I submit this work?
	With Whom	Do I need to work alone?
Criteria "I matter"	Checklist Rubric or Examples	What are the parts? How do I am on the right track? How will I know what's expected? What matters most? How will I know I'm doing good work? What's good or bad in these examples?

(Bowen and Watson, 2024, p. 187)

Reference

Bowen, J. A., & Watson, C. E. (2024). Teaching with AI : a practical guide to a new era of human learning. Johns Hopkins University Press.