This article explores the evolving role of artificial intelligence in higher education, examining the perspectives of professors and students on its impact on writing, critical thinking, and learning. It highlights the challenges of detecting AI-generated work, the debate over responsible AI use, and the diverse approaches educators are taking to integrate AI into their teaching.
For English professor Dan Cryer, the integration of generative artificial intelligence into academic writing is akin to employing a forklift in a gymnasium. Cryer, who teaches at Johnson County Community College near Kansas City, Kansas, believes that AI has introduced a new layer of complexity for educators: determining the authenticity of student work. This task is further complicated by the fact that institutions like his provide students with access to these very AI tools.
The emergence of these tools has also placed a new burden on students: discerning the boundaries of responsible AI usage. Cryer's perspective stems from his belief that the primary function of these tools is to circumvent the effort required for critical thinking, thereby undermining the core objectives of education. He now dedicates more time to conveying the value of the writing process to his students, emphasizing that the primary focus of education is the development of critical thinking, argumentative skills, and source evaluation rather than solely the final product, the essay itself. Students who bypass this process through reliance on AI may forfeit the educational experience they initially sought, according to Cryer.\More than three years following the debut of ChatGPT, generative AI has become deeply embedded in daily life, and the academic world of both professors and students continues to grapple with the intricacies of its application, especially within humanities courses. A survey conducted last July indicated that approximately 85% of undergraduates employed AI for coursework, utilizing it for brainstorming, outlining, and exam preparation. A considerable percentage, around 19%, also reported using AI to generate entire essays. Over half of the students who employed AI in their coursework expressed mixed feelings, acknowledging its occasional usefulness while also recognizing its potential to hinder deeper cognitive engagement. Aysa Tarana, a recent college graduate, experienced the emergence of ChatGPT during her first year at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Initially, she utilized the chatbot for simpler tasks, such as generating research topic suggestions. Ultimately, she stopped using AI, as she felt it led to an outsourcing of her own thought process. Cryer, after a sabbatical dedicated to studying generative AI, advocates for minimal AI usage in teaching, emphasizing the importance of active engagement with the writing process for students to develop better thinking skills and strong arguments. He believes that the true benefit lies in students learning to discern between good and bad sources, and the reliance on AI undermines this essential skill development.\In contrast, Leslie Clement, a professor at the historically Black Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, views generative AI as a potent collaborative tool that can enrich student learning. Clement permits students to utilize AI for various purposes, including outlining papers, gathering feedback, and comparing sources. She also co-created a course, 'African Diaspora and AI,' that investigates the global impact of AI on people of African descent, examining critical components in AI technologies and considering potential future benefits. This course also celebrates the contributions of Black researchers and scientists. Clement prioritizes fostering critical, ethical, and inclusive thinking, encouraging her students to apply these principles to their AI use. Further north, in Durham, North Carolina, Anjali Tatini, a pre-med student at Duke University, has discovered beneficial applications of AI. Double majoring in global health and neuroscience, Tatini finds AI tools helpful for clarifying complex subject matter. She utilizes AI chatbots to simplify challenging concepts and create practice problems for exams, utilizing the technology for brainstorming and code generation across different subjects. She values AI's availability as a 24/7 tutor, allowing for assistance outside of regular office hours, given her busy schedule involving jobs, other classes, and extracurricular activities
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