Some professors are excited about integrating ChatGPT into their class activities and assessments. Others might be feeling a bit weary of the endless new challenges technology raises. Rutgers–Camden Instructional Design & Technology will be working with Camden faculty to provide clarity and assistance to our instructors, no matter where they fall on this spectrum.
In the meantime, here are some starting points for learning more:
- To try out ChatGPT, create an account at chat.openai.com. You can ask the bot a question, or give it a writing challenge. Take a look at some actual examples of ChatGPT output for specific prompts.
- Rutgers Office of Teaching Evaluation and Assessment Research (OTEAR) offers useful resources on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education, including:
- OTEAR has also prepared specific advice to Rutgers faculty about preparing to teach: TEACHING CRITICAL AI LITERACY: Advice for the New Semester
Assignments in our brave new world
If you’re interested in updating discussion prompts and assignments to encourage students to engage unassisted with your learning activities, consider these strategies, where appropriate for you and your students:
- Ask questions about readings and resources that are less published or discussed online;
- Imagine multi-step projects as a form of authentic assessment—break it down, so the building process can be supported and assessed;
- Have students compare their thoughts to cited ideas from class readings, lectures, or discussions;
- Share an answer from ChatGPT and ask students to critique its value and validity;
- Require students to submit a ChatGPT “answer” with their analysis of its strengths and weakness—plus their corrections;
- Ask students to submit a video, a slideshow, an annotated image, or another creative media project;
- For composition assignments (and others), ask for reflections on the writing process, before accepting the actual project;
- For calculation-type assessments, require students to record and submit a video of themselves solving the problem by hand, with narration as to what they are doing at each step and why;
- For on-campus courses, offer frequent, low-stakes, hand-written assignments in class, to ease the stress of larger assignments and to familiarize yourself with your students’ understanding and writing style.
If you have good ideas for assignments that encourage authentic engagement in your discipline, please share them with us at idt@camden.rutgers.edu. And thank you!
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