When I first started teaching 15 years ago, I made good writing a personal mission. I soon realized it was Mission Impossible. I gave a writing assignment each week, which students hated and I grew to hate, too.
One weekend, I asked my son, an excellent writer, to share his reaction to several of the mid-term papers. After 15 minutes of reading, he said: “Dad, you have to give all of these papers an F.”The next quarter, I assigned fewer papers and noticed a slight improvement.
Fast forward to the last couple of years, written assignments became consistently better and better. I mentioned this turnaround to a colleague who gave me a crash course in A.I. At the next class, I asked students if they use A.I. for classwork. “Show of hands.” As facial expressions silently shouted “Duh,” every hand in the room went up. Oh, joy. Something else I needed to learn.
At first, I was violently opposed to A.I. Then several friends and colleagues said it was a losing battle. Instead, I began encouraging A.I. to help students brainstorm, organize ideas, explain difficult concepts, and prove their productivity. “Treat it as a learning partner, not a substitute for learning.”
Here are other tips for students that I picked up over the past couple of years from colleagues and others who are far more adept at the effective use of A.I. as a teaching tool:
- Use A.I. to understand, not just to finish. Ask A.I. to explain a difficult concept in simpler language, provide examples, or quiz you on course material. The goal should be greater understanding, not simply completing an assignment faster.
- Check the information. A.I. can produce incorrect or outdated information while sounding confident. Verify important facts using textbooks, academic databases, professors, and other reliable sources.
- Follow your professor’s rules. Every course may have different expectations for A.I. use. Read the syllabus and ask your instructor what is permitted before using A.I. on assignments, exams, or research.
- Keep your own voice. If A.I. helps you brainstorm or revise, make sure the final work reflects your own thinking, arguments, and writing style. Your education is about developing skills, not simply producing polished work.
- Protect your privacy. Avoid entering sensitive personal information, private academic records, passwords, or confidential material into A.I. tools. Think carefully about what information you share.
- Use A.I. as a study coach. Try asking it to create practice questions, simulate an oral exam, identify gaps in your understanding, or suggest additional topics to study.
- Learn the limitations. A.I. is powerful, but it is not infallible. Developing the ability to question, evaluate, and fact-check A.I.-generated information is becoming an important academic and professional skill.
The best approach is to think of A.I. as a tool that can enhance your education rather than replace it. College is an opportunity to develop judgment, creativity, communication, and critical-thinking skills. Used thoughtfully, A.I. can help students spend less time struggling with routine tasks and more time engaging deeply with what they are learning.
As the new school year begins, don’t ask only, “How can A.I. do this for me?” Ask the more valuable question: “How can I use A.I. to become a better student?”
Feature photo by Salvador Rios