As the Center for Teaching and Learning prepared for the Year of AI at UT, it was clear that the emergence of tools like ChatGPT was going to have a dramatic and enduring impact on how faculty and instructors across campus think about teaching in the age of generative AI (GenAI).
An initial concern in higher education circles was how GenAI tools could be subject to misuse. UT was quick to rightly integrate AI use considerations into the academic honesty policies and a revamped student code of conduct. Even with these challenges in mind, educators and researchers began considering how GenAI could complement learning, acting as a “guide on the side” for students who would benefit from engaging with these tools and other models that could harness creative discovery and curiosity in the service of academic engagement and future professional success.
In January 2023, staff in CTL created an introductory resource for UT faculty and instructors called “5 Things to Know about ChatGPT” and hosted a powerfully insightful student-led panel of undergraduate and graduate students sharing early insights about GenAI use in the classroom. As the fall semester grew nearer, CTL started offering workshops and “lunch and learn” sessions that focused on sharing new UT policies, resources, working definitions, and creative ideas for integrating these tools into the classroom. These sessions were wildly popular and led to in-depth explorations of ways to use GenAI in classroom to engage learners.
A practice central to CTL’s identity is exploring innovative pedagogical models through diverse communities of practice and strong, trustworthy collaborative partnerships. In that spirit, one of the first initiatives crafted to meet the emergence of GenAI was the “Partnership in AI Research” (PAIR) grants that CTL offered for student/instructor teams. Beyond discovering “productive models at the intersections of teaching, research, and student professional development,” these grants seek to ensure that “every student has access to and the ability to assess technologies (specifically, generative AI) that nourish and challenge them, both ethically and creatively, in their learning and in working with their peers.” Accessibility, peer learning, and creativity in course design are woven into each grant in this cycle. The PAIR grants are one of our many students-as-partners projects that benefit our university by bringing fresh and relevant perspectives to classroom instruction, enhancing relationships between students and instructors, and providing experiential learning opportunities to students that enhance their sense of agency and belonging in their disciplines.
In addition to providing support for GenAI innovation through the PAIRS grant program, CTL also developed a comprehensive guide, the Generative AI in Teaching and Learning toolkit, for UT faculty and instructors. Working with colleagues from across campus, CTL organized the areas and information within this toolkit with growth and UT-specific context in mind. Each section, from "UT Guides and Recommendations" to "Policies," "Syllabus Statements" for GenAI use, "Prompt Design" approaches, and "Assessment," contains references to research and UT partner explorations and will expand with additional pedagogical methods, student studying prompts, GenAI tools for different disciplines and policies as they emerge. In addition, each section of the toolkit lists associated CTL workshops for further exploration. In the Fall 2024 semester, we will explore the intersections of GenAI tool use and academic research.
"The CTL is dedicated to collaborating with our instructional community, addressing the various interests and concerns surrounding the use of generative AI in the classroom," says Molly Hatcher, Assistant Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. "We hope this resource will foster our collective academic and professional curiosity and also strengthen our ethical commitment to utilizing these tools responsibly."
These resources and outreach highlight the role that CTL plays in advancing UT’s proactive stance of preparing its academic community for an AI-driven future. As one of the oldest centers for teaching and learning in higher education, we will continue to play the role that we have played for fifty years: preparing UT’s faculty and students for success, both inside and outside the classroom, through forward-looking and responsible support.