How I am thinking about GenAI in the classroom

A lot of students are using generative AI to take shortcuts on assignments. I think it's worth asking why.

When students choose against doing the assigned work themselves, they know that they're avoiding the struggle that is necessary for growth. I think it's fair to assume that our students know this. Whether they're using the robot or hiring some dude on the internet or just old school plagiarizing, they understand this choice.

If we want to grow as teachers, then I think it's on us to understand why this choice happens. I've been having this conversation with students and other folks casually over the past year, while I've been on sabbatical. I've been in a relatively cozy moment when I haven't had to worry about this as an instructor, which allows me to put a bit of emotional distance from the frustrations.

I've decided that there are four possible reasons why students resort to using GenAI on writing assignments. I'll just spill them out, then I'll spell them out.

1. They think that they will gain nothing by doing the work themselves.
2. They lack the confidence in their writing ability and creativity and think a robot can do it better.
3. They screwed up with time management and got desperate.
4. They don't care whether they learn by doing the assignment, because they are treating the course transactionally, and see the instructor as an adversary to overcome to receive a good grade.

That's it. Have I missed a reason? Please jump on in in the comments.

When I look back at my list, I see good news and bad news.

The good news is that there are a lot of things that we can do as instructors to address those things. (And I even wrote a book to help inexperienced science instructors do just that! If you haven't heard of it yet, it's a breezy read that provides a gentle introduction to evidence-based teaching practices and emphasizes kindness. It should be in your library.)

The bad news is that these are wicked problems and challenges that don't go away easily and are bigger than ourselves and our own classrooms. This means addressing this problem is about not just what you practice in your own classroom but also about how you build community in your department and beyond.

Now I'll go off a little bit more on each of those reasons I listed above.

The first one. Sometimes students will look at an assignment and think that it's a stupid waste of time. Just like a third grader who is rightfully indignant about being sent home with worksheet after worksheet of arithmetic, some of our students will look at assignments that we give them and conclude that doing it won't make a difference for them. And you know what? They might be absolutely right. It's possible that whatever we've assigned them is something that they've genuinely mastered so they don't think it's worth jumping through our hoops one more time. Or perhaps our assignment is nothing but busy work and having them do it won't contribute one iota to their intellectual or personal growth. And also, it might well be that our assignment is for very good reasons but the students don't see or recognize those reasons.

So what can we do about this problem? I think the first step is to bring metacognition into the classroom. Every time I am working with a new group of students, I will spend a good chunk of our first meeting talking about the how and the why of what happens in the course. I wrote about this, erm, 12 years ago. But you know what? I just re-read it and it really holds up!

Another thing that we can do about the first problem is to put more effort into gaining the respect of our students and making sure that they know that you respect them just as much. After all, students have a very very hard time thinking that they'll be able to learn from a professor who they don't respect. That's not just the situation for students, that's universal trait of our species.

What about the times when students turn to GenAI because they think they can't write as well as the robot? This might sound silly to you and me because when we read this GenAI prose it's always with the same unengaging tone and overconfident, and clearly reads like it was written by a robot and you would never suspect that it will contain an actual insight. But when a lot of our students see that weak-ass AI bullshit prose, they see something that is grammatically tight, free of typos, just the right length, cites its sources (even if they are invented), and is a coherent set of ideas (even if the facts are wrong). I see the appeal, and I can see why students can feel imposter-y real quick when Roboto can come up with a typo-free 5 page essay when it would take any of us a couple hours to knock one out, and that's not even dealing with the typos.

So what can we do about this? First, I think we need to take a page from our colleagues in Math Education who know all about math phobia and self-defeating thoughts in their students. Just like linear algebra and differential equations are scary, writing is scary. Hell, what's more scary than a blank page? Why do you think y'all didn't get a newsletter from me last week. I looked at the blank new post screen and just froze. If it can happen to us, it can happen to our students. This is where respect and kindness really come into play. Because when we tell our students that we value their creativity and we are absolutely sure that they can write better than a robot, we need them to believe us. Second, we can change how we grade our assignments. If we are basing our grades on stuff that robots can do, then of course students will ask robots to do it. But if we base grades on the stuff that really matters, then we're assigning value to what we value. Let go of the typos and weak grammar, and let's look at the ideas.

What about students who use GenAI because they're desperate and didn't have the time to do the work? Well I can go on forever about this. And since I have, I'll just make two points: a) Make sure that you're not assigning too much. It's just one course and students have busy lives, and don't be that jerk professor who acts like their course is the only thing that should matter to their students. And b) How about you adopt some course policies that have some forgiveness and give in the schedule so that your otherwise honest students wouldn't feel compelled to cheat and lie to you than to admit that they are behind on their work and need some more time? Too much flexibility might lead some students to dig a hole that's too deep for themselves, but if you're too rigid with deadlines then you'll have more students who are more scared of being late than they are of doing the work.

And the last one. This is a biggie. Students who are in the course just to play the game. You know the ones. The premeds who have to get their A at all costs or they'll never get into med school and it will ruin their lives. (No, #NotAllPremeds.) That person who isn't in college to learn but instead to gain the credential so that they can get on with their lives. The fratbro who is doing his time before daddy gives him an office in the executive suite. There are plenty of folks who are not in college to learn. They see it as a transaction. They jump through your hoops, you assign the grades based on how well they jump through the hoops, and everybody moves on. Of course these folks will use GenAI if they can. What to do about this?

Oh, look, it's getting late, and if I keep going I'm going to hit 2000 words. Who wants to read a 2000 word newsletter? Looks like I'll have to write about the transactional approach to college and developing intrinsic motivation another time.

Sure, I think the use of AI in student writing has proliferated to the point where we need to "do something about it." But if what we do is to increase vigilance and become more punitive, then we're just deepening our problem, because the way out of this is by building trust and mutual respect. Which I get might seem like an abstract concept when you have a huge classroom full of students and we're just trying to get through out day peaceably and get an honest effort from everybody. At the end of the day, the effectiveness of the education we deliver is scaffolded on the quality of the relationships we build with our students.

Have a great week, everybody.