This resource is designed to consider generative artificial intelligence in teaching and learning within the University of Toronto context. It does not attempt to define generative AI but examines how generative AI tools and practices are being used in our community. The following is a selection of curated items and examples intended to support U of T instructors interested in generative AI and seeking information on how to include, or better engage with, in their teaching practice.
Contact
Would you like to speak with an Educational Developer or Faculty Liaison about teaching with a generative AI tool? Please contact CTSI.
Do you have an assignment or assessment to share? A strategy for using generative AI in your classroom? Please let us know [link to form]. Submitted examples appear under What’s happening at U of T.
Programming
Upcoming sessions and workshops
Generative AI Sandbox 1: Exploring practical uses for instructors
February 12, 2:30pm-4:30pm (in-person)
Presented by CTSI
Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring pedagogical applications of Generative AI tools available to University of Toronto instructors. This workshop is intended for those who are intrigued by AI but may feel daunted by more technical aspects. We will demonstrate and practice with two AI tools available from Microsoft and Contact North. Learn to navigate these platforms while protecting your data, as we generate examples and practical instructor use cases to support teaching needs.
Exploring GenAI Potential for the Learning Process: Empowering Students for Ethical and Creative Learning
January 30, 2pm-3pm
Presented by the Centre for Teaching & Learning, UTSC
Explore innovative ways to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the learning process while fostering critical thinking and creativity among students. Student panellists will share their experiences and perspectives on leveraging GenAI to enhance learning outcomes. During the webinar, we’ll discuss key considerations for using GenAI for the learning process and present a few GenAI tools (beyond ChatGPT) that students have explored.
Past CTSI workshops
From Panic to Possibility: Rethinking and Redesigning Assignments in the Wake of Generative AI
As an instructor, it is hard to read about the impact of generative AI on teaching and learning in higher education and not wonder what we are going to do come September, especially when we are told that many of our students are already using it. This workshop will help move you from panic mode to problem-solving: in consultation with workshop leaders and faculty peers, you will get a chance to rethink and redesign one of your assignments with a focus on learning objectives, possibilities, and constraints in our new context.
What's Happening at U of T?
Instructor Profiles
- Steve Easterbrook?
- Dan Zingaro?
[Design and categories TBD]
Assessments
Members of the U of T community have generously shared their teaching strategies, projects and assessments that incorporate generative AI tools into their course.
[Design and categories TBD]
If you have an example you would like to share, please submit this online form [link to form].
Teaching and Learning with Generative AI
As we experiment with generative AI and learn more about what is available, we think it is important to consider a few things:
However you decide to include, or exclude, the use of generative AI in your classroom, be sure to communicate this to your students. Be explicit and direct. Sample Syllabus Statements are available.
Students will also need to know how to properly cite the use of generative AI tools in their work. [provide link]
Harvard’s metaLAB recommends creating an AI classroom policy. They provide a customizable AI Code of Conduct or you could create one in collaboration with your students.
Engage students in critiquing any information a generative AI tool produces. We should never assume that the information is correct or accurate.
AI Primer
The responses you receive from a generative AI tool depend on the prompts, and the further refining of these prompts, provided. This takes practice. As Ethan Mollick said, “The lesson is that just using AI will teach you how to use AI.” (Working with AI: Two Paths to Prompting) To get started, we recommend you consider the following.
Are you interested in learning how generative AI works? Visit [link to video?]
Be clear about what you want. Include detailed information in your prompt, including the desired format. “Write a paragraph about…” “Create an image containing…” Suggest a particular style (e.g., an academic essay or advertising copy) and include specific information you want to include (e.g., provide an outline or ordered steps for the prompt).
If you’re not sure how to describe the style you want to emulate, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania suggests pasting in a text example you like and ask the tool to describe it. Use that description in your own prompt for style.
Be critical. Does the tool output meet your needs? What additional information is required? Generative AI is an interactive tool. Try different options and prompts to gage the results, clear the prompt screen and try again. You will learn to refine your prompts and better discern what is most effective with practice.
Be critical. Generative AI tools can provide quick results that may appear correct but looks can be deceiving. Tools such as ChatGPT can produce or misleading text. As with any text or visual analysis, we need to examine the results with a critical eye.
Institutional Policies
For information on U of T guidelines and other institutional concerns, including sample syllabus statements, visit the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (VP-IUE)’s ChatGPT and Generative AI in the Classroom.
Sample Syllabus Statements are also available from the VP-IUE.
The School of Graduate Studies (SGS)’s Guidance on the Appropriate Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Graduate Theses provides information for graduate students, supervisors, supervisory committee members, Graduate Chairs and Graduate Units.
UTL’s Generative AI tools and copyright considerations and Citing AI Generative Tools and AI Generated Content provides information on citations and references when using generative AI, and using licensed materials.
Resources
The following are a list of curated resources to support instructors’ learning regarding generative AI in teaching and learning:
CTSI Resources
External
- For those considering implementing AI in their classroom, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Interactive Crash Course: Practical AI for Instructors provides some starter videos
- 7 Things You Should Know About Generative AI from Educause
- Harvard’s metaLAB’s AI Pedagogy