Gabriele Windgasse
Adjunct Faculty, Mailman School of Public Health
In my course P9303 (Applied Environmental Public Health Science), I treat Generative AI as a tool that my graduate students must become familiar with. The AI-related learning objectives aim to improve digital literacy and critical thinking by using and evaluating three AI tools: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity.ai. Students are also expected to practice prompt engineering. They are required to review the CU AI Policy, ensure that AI tools do not use their inputs for training the tool, and cite or acknowledge AI-generated outputs following the Chicago Manual of Style recommendations. A link to CUIT offers initial guidance on prompt engineering, which students practice through several assignments.
Teaching students to leverage AI and develop their AI literacy
In the first assignment, students research an aspect of the environmental toxicology of a chemical, utilizing a research article published within the past 12 months, along with additional resources I provide. They write a two-page briefing for subject matter experts using scientific jargon. Using the three AI tools, they design a prompt requesting a 400-word summary of their research topic. They then compare and contrast the results, identify hallucinations (incorrect citations) and details that either they or the tools may have overlooked. Students evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each AI tool and reflect on using these tools to communicate with subject matter experts.
The second assignment involves using AI tools to improve the communication of technical information regarding an emerging public health concern to a general audience. Students revise the prompt until they generate text suitable for a lay public factsheet.
For the remaining assignments, students may use AI tools as long as they are properly cited and acknowledged. I have observed that students tend to use AI tools less frequently as the course progresses, except for grammar and punctuation checks. I have also begun using AI tools to create short quizzes (multiple choice) based on specific topics discussed or the entire lecture file.
Lessons learned from teaching and learning with AI
My conclusion is that these rapidly evolving tools are here to stay. We and our students need to learn to use them appropriately to harness their potential and properly acknowledge their use in our work.
Disclosure: I requested Perplexity.ai to rewrite my draft for grammar, punctuation, and clarity, and I edited the result.