Quick TipsRedesigning Assignments

Assignment redesign can take different forms, including discouraging AI use and incorporating AI use.

Discouraging AI Use

There may be some ways to make it harder for students to use AI on assignments.
Creating scaffolding in assignments allows us to see the evolution of student work and gives them the chance to invest in their tasks.
We can also design assignments to maximize motivation. The ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction) model is one time-tested way to do this.

Scaffolding

Creating scaffolding in assignments allows us to see the evolution of student work and gives them the chance to invest in their tasks.

Scaffolding sections of the assignment also allows time to build up skillsets using feedback on how to turn in a final product they can be proud of.
Scaffolding also allows you more opportunities to become familiar with each student's voice and approaches to certain topics.

Reflection

Allow opportunities for reflection in student coursework, which increases motivation and can discourage AI use.

Reflection gives students space to explain their process or how they came to conclusions, as seen in their work. This will also help you document their work, which will give you more evidence to evaluate their work if you do have concerns regarding academic integrity.
Reflection assignments can be worth a small number of points, but they help diversify the points. This can lessen the stress of larger writing assignments if students know other points are available for simply contributing content.

Sample Reflection Assignments

Incorporating AI Use

Allowing students to use generative AI may be a good choice for some assignments, as it could support their learning and provide an opportunity for you to guide how they think about and use these tools.
Be sure to give students choices in the GAI tools they use, including some that do not require creating accounts to ensure equitable access and student privacy.
Adopt a growth mindset. Doing something new in your courses may require some experimentation. Be curious and have fun.

AI Augmentation

Consider creating assignments where the instructor creates a baseline product (essay, research paper, speech, report, etc.) using generative AI, and students must build upon, edit, or revise the baseline product. This allows students to start with a strong writing sample and encourages them to incorporate their own analysis, evaluations, and ideas of the subject matter into the content.

Be sure you have them document not only what they changed but also have them explain why they decided to change it.

AI Evaluation

Have students practice critical thinking skills by having them "find the flaws" in AI-generated content about the subject matter.

This helps not only encourages students to understand the subject matter, but it provides opportunities for students to understand the dangers behind AI hallucinations.
Be sure students not only point out what the flaws are in AI-generated content but also how those flaws should be corrected and why.
Remember, you can ask the AI to add flaws in its content if it does not hallucinate any intially.

Remember, you can always ask your fellow faculty what ways they have found to incorporate AI into their courses.

See these other AI Excellence Toolkit Resources to explore further.