April 4, 2023 Expanding on the recent memo on ChatGPT and teaching, this resource offers additional suggestions for navigating AI/ChatGPT. Know what ChatGPT can and can’t do ChatGPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) is a free (for now) AI (artificial intelligence) chatbot that uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to respond to prompts with relevant information. It is available via OpenAi.com. (You must create a login.) It can generate responses to essay prompts, equations, as well as quiz and test questions. It can also write code. It may produce very similar responses to the same prompt. It does not have access to material behind paywalls and has little knowledge of events after 2021. It sometimes reproduces inaccurate information and invents citations. Remind students of Academic Regulations and the Honor Code Princeton’s Academic Regulations clarify that students are expected to properly acknowledge their sources, adhere to course collaboration policies (which set the standard for “permissible” collaboration), and not seek an unfair advantage over other students. Be explicit about your policy You might decide that using AI/ChatGPT violates your collaboration policy, or you might decide it’s appropriate for students to use in certain cases. Whatever you decide, be explicit about your AI/ChatGPT policy in your syllabus, on Canvas, and as you introduce assignments. These sample statements might be useful: Intellectual honesty is vital to an academic community and for my fair evaluation of your work. All work submitted in this course must be your own, completed in accordance with the University’s academic regulations. You may not engage in unauthorized collaboration or make use of ChatGPT or other AI composition software. Students must obtain permission from me before using AI composition software (like ChatGPT) for any assignments in this course. Using these tools without my permission puts your academic integrity at risk. Emphasize learning Explain to students how completing the assignments in your course will help them learn, and let them know why their own original work on these assignments is important to their education. (Re)consider your assignments Enter your assignment prompts into ChatGPT to understand the kind of results it might produce if students use it. Revise your prompts, if necessary. Design assignments that require critical thinking (analyzing, comparing, applying) rather than simply summarizing information, which AI/ChatGPT is good at doing. Ask students to reference in-class discussions or examples in their answers. Prompt students to connect course material to their own perspectives or experiences. Ask them to apply concepts to their own life and beliefs. Use close reading assignments in which students analyze specific excerpts of text. (ChatGPT only has access to public websites, limiting its ability to do this effectively.) Ask students to demonstrate their thought processes and reflect on their work. For example, they might annotate their solution to a novel problem, show their work using a digital whiteboard tool, or write a cover letter for their essay that introduces their ideas. Have students use social annotation tools to read and respond to an article in small groups. Encourage creative thinking. For example, you might develop assignments that require students to create images, maps, podcasts, videos, diagrams, storyboards, or blog posts. Consult with one of our Educational Technologists on using digital assignments in your classes. Use in-person assessments such as in-class writing exercises or quizzes. Devise oral assignments such as presentations, debates, or role plays. These can be low-stakes activities—for example, asking a student to talk through their response to a problem or share ideas as part of a “fishbowl” discussion—or higher stakes activities that require advanced planning and preparation. Scaffold students’ work with multiple draft and revision deadlines that offer you opportunities to give them feedback. If navigating AI is a skill you think it is important for students to develop, you might design activities and assignments that embrace it. Ask students to experiment with entering prompts into ChatGPT and reflect on their experiences. How does changing the request alter the output? What characterizes an effective prompt? After students have read and discussed assigned texts, invite them to work in small groups to ask ChatGPT questions about the readings and assess its answers. After students complete their own drafts of an assigned essay, request a draft of the assignment from ChatGPT. Ask students to analyze and/or critique the work it produces. The McGraw Center is delighted to consult with you on course preparation or assignment design. Be in touch with Jessica Del Vecchio, Senior Associate Director for Teaching Initiatives and Programs for Faculty. References and Additional Resources: Bogost, Ian. “ChatGPT Is Dumber Than You Think.” The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2022. Grobe, Christopher. “Why I’m Not Scared of ChatGPT.” Chronicle of Higher Education, 18 Jan. 2023. McMurtie, Beth. “AI and the Future of Undergraduate Writing.” Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 Dec. 2022. McMurtie, Beth. “Will ChatGPT Change the Way You Teach?” Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 Jan. 2023. Marche, Stephen. “The College Essay is Dead,” The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2022. Marcus, Gary. “AI's Jurassic Park moment.” The Road to AI We Can Trust, 10 Dec. 2022. Prochaska, Eric. “Embrace the Bot: Designing Writing Assignments in the Face of AI.” Faculty Focus, 23 Jan. 2023. Roose, Keven. “The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT.” The New York Times, 5 Dec. 2022. Sharples, Mike. “New AI Tools.” LSE Impact Blog, 17 May 2022. Stokel-Walker, Chris. “ChatGPT Listed as Author on Research Papers.” Nature, 18 Jan. 2023. Warzel, Charlie. “Talking to AI Might be the Most Important Skill of this Century.” The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2023.