This Week for Faculty: Academic Integrity in the Age of AI

by | Oct 2, 2024

Tips for promoting academic integrity in the age of AI

AI tools abound surfacing questions about how to promote academic integrity in the classroom. Below are moves that instructors can make to support student learning while upholding academic integrity.

Talk with your students. In addition to transparently communicating your expectations and policies around academic integrity and AI use on your syllabus, engage in ongoing conversations with your students. Help students understand what academic integrity means and why it is important to your course and their learning. Make space for their questions. Revisit course and University policies (on academic integrity and generative AI) with students before they complete assignments.

Engage students in conversations about learning and their process. Remind students of how learning works and that “the one who does the work does the learning” (Doyle, 2011). Ask students to explain their thinking, their approach to completing assignments, the choices they made, sources used, etc. An assignment or exam wrapper can be used to guide students as they reflect on their process. Questions might include: how did you approach studying for this exam? What strategies did you use? What challenges did you encounter while working on this assignment, and how did you address them? What was your process for completing this assignment? How did you incorporate the feedback that was provided? What sources did you draw upon and why? What might you do differently to improve your work going forward?

Take the stress out of assessments. Build in low stakes or no stakes assessments that align with course objectives and provide students with opportunities to practice skills and receive feedback. For high stakes assignments, explain the relevance of the assignment. Invite students to ask questions. Break down the assignment into smaller manageable parts, providing feedback along the way. Encourage students to focus on the learning process. Find additional suggestions in the Designing Assignments for Learning resource.

Normalize help seeking. Provide resources to help students thrive in your course. Encourage your students to bring up academic challenges and seek help from you, TAs, peers, tutors, or other campus resources. Check your students’ understanding of assignments expectations, and check in with them on their progress. Invite students to receive support during office hours.

Communicate what level of AI use is permitted in your course assessments. Select the desired level of AI usage in your course assessments based on the learning objectives (draw on the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS) as a starting point). Transparently communicate your expectations of AI use to your students. Explain to students what gen AI can be used for in course work, when, and why.

Teach students how to appropriately acknowledge the use of AI. This can include citation practices (e.g., APA and MLA), submitting a copy of their interaction with an AI tool or a reflection or acknowledgement statement along with their work detailing their process for completing coursework and the ways they used AI. By intentionally building this into the learning process, students are more self-aware and develop their metacognition skills.

Upcoming sessions

Clinical Teaching Series: Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles
October 1, 3:00-4:00pm
This session will also be offered on December 12
Related resource: Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles to Clinical Education

Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Course
October 8, 12:00-1:00pm
This session will also be offered on October 21
Related resource: Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia

Entering Mentoring: Maintaining Effective Communication
October 10, 10:00-11:00am
Related resources on the Advancing Mentorship Practices page

Navigating HOT Moments: Before, During, & After Class
October 15, 11:00am-12:00pm
This session will also be offered on November 18 and December 4
Related resource: Navigating Heated, Offensive, and Tense (HOT) Moments in the Classroom

The CTL is here to help!

Connect via Zoom or over the phone
Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your teaching with instructional technology questions answered, or schedule an appointment any time by contacting ColumbiaCTL@columbia.edu.

Schedule a consultations
Schedule a consultation to discuss any teaching and learning need by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.