Teaching & Learning with ChatGPT: Opportunity or Quagmire? Part III

Teaching & Learning with ChatGPT: Opportunity or Quagmire? Part III

Academic Integrity | Student Privacy | Equity & Accessibility

In this third part of our series on the use of generative AI. Here, we outline a few issues to consider and address before the beginning of the semester:

Please also see Parts I and II: How Can We Use Generative AI to Support and Enhance Student Learning? of this series.

wall at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens: mosaic w/ bottles and found ceramic shards
Photo: J. Rankin

Academic Integrity

The Teaching + Learning Lab recommends that you clearly state your policy on the use of generative AI in the academic integrity statement on your syllabus. Note that OpenAI’s terms of use include the following among its restrictions: users may not “represent that output from the Services was human-generated when it is not.” 

Examples of AI acceptable-use Syllabus Statements
Please adapt as needed for your subject
The use of generative AI is prohibited in the subject

Since a central goal of this subject is to help you become independent and critical thinkers, you are discouraged from using AI tools to create [SPECIFY: TEXT | CODE | EQUATIONS | VIDEO | AUDIO | IMAGES] in your work (assignments, activities, responses, etc). Any work submitted using AI tools will be treated as though it was plagiarized. 

If any part of this is confusing or uncertain, please reach out to me for a conversation before submitting your work.  Adapted from the Center for Teaching Excellence, BC

The limited use of generative AI is permitted with proper citation

Example 1: Since a central goal of this subject is to help you become independent and critical thinkers, you are discouraged from the extensive use of generative AI tools to create (SPECIFY: TEXT | CODE | EQUATIONS | VIDEO | AUDIO | IMAGES) as part of your work.

If you do use AI-generated content in your assignments, you must clearly indicate what work is yours and what part is generated by the AI. In such cases, no more than XX% of your work should be generated by AI. Any AI-generated work not cited and/or used for more than XX% of your assignment will (SPECIFY OUTCOME).

If any part of this is confusing or uncertain, please reach out to me for a conversation before submitting your work.  Adapted from the Center for Teaching Excellence, BC

Example 2: Syllabus Statement from TLL’s Kaufman Teaching Certificate Program (a non-credit course for MIT graduate students & post-docs)

Acceptability of use determined on a case-by-case basis

There are situations when the use of generative AI may be appropriate and educational. If you believe that your use of generative AI is appropriate for a given assignment, Please contact me (via email, or in person at least (X) days before the due date) to explain your rationale for its use. Adapted from the Yale Poorvu Center’s AI Guidance

Please note – that for equity and inclusion-related reasons, you should be extremely clear that you are open and willing to discuss the use of generative AI with all students.  You should also be transparent about your criteria for deciding justified use.  A case-by-case approach may disproportionately negatively impact first-generation/low-income (FG/LI) students and/or students from other traditionally marginalized backgrounds in higher education.  These students may be less willing to reach out to instructors for special accommodations, and may, overall, be less comfortable approaching faculty.  This may be due in part to fears of reinforcing negative stereotypes (stereotype threat) and/or because FG/LI students may not know that conversations with faculty are an expected part of higher education (i.e., they have less academic cultural capital than non-FG/LI students).  In addition, without clearly articulated criteria for your decisions, students may feel that your decisions regarding AI use are unfair or biased.

For additional ideas for syllabus statements, see

Derek Bruff’s Intentional Teaching newsletter 

Torrey Trust’s article in Faculty Focus: 

Lance Eaton’s compilation of policy statements

For additional information on creating a syllabus that acknowledges and incorporates policies regarding the use of generative AI, see the Syllabus Resources on the  Sentient Syllabus Project’s website.

Student Data Privacy

DALL-E generated image: locked treasure chest maroon background realistic painting.
DALL-E generated image: locked treasure chest maroon background realistic painting.

If you would like students to engage with AI-generated content in your subjects – you’ll want to consider student privacy issues (ChatGPT is an open-access tool, not supported by IS&T and not subject to MIT’s student data safeguards) as well as the ethics of mandating that students use the tool. Read and encourage all students to read ChatGPT’s privacy policy, which states that data collected by ChatGPT can be shared with third-party vendors, law enforcement, affiliates, and other users; and the terms of use, which states that “you must be 18 years or older and able to form a binding contract with OpenAI to use the Services” (i.e., students under 18 years old should not be asked to use the tool.)  Users can request to delete their ChatGPT account, but all prompts and inputs to the site cannot be removed.  

Writing in her blog, Jill Walker Rettberg, professor of digital culture at the University of Bergen in Norway, notes, “OpenAI knows my email and the country I am connecting from, so they can assume my judgements about how ChatGPT responds to me align with “Norwegian values”. OpenAI also knows what device, browser and operating system I am using, which can be a proxy for class and socio-economic status.” (Rettberg, 2022)

To address data privacy concerns, you may want to consider ways that students can use AI-generated content without generating it themselves (E.g., you or a TA volunteer could enter questions/prompts as specified by students, and share them for use in the assignment).

Equity & Accessibility

For the time being, ChatGPT is open-access and free. Although there has been no official announcement, OpenAI is apparently planning to launch a paid version for unrestricted use. As with other apps/software – ChatGPT may become readily accessible only to those who are willing and able to pay for it. When and if ChatGPT moves to a for-profit price structure, instructors will need to carefully reexamine and adjust how and when they ask students to engage with the tool.

DALL-E generated image: open door to outside blue ski fluffy clouds
DALL-E generated image: open door to outside blue ski fluffy clouds

With respect to accessibility, writing in Wired, Pia Ceres writes, “completely barring ChatGPT from classrooms, tempting as that may be, could introduce a host of new problems. Torrey Trust at the University of Massachusetts Amherst studies how teachers use technology to reshape learning. She points out that reverting to analog forms of assessment, like oral exams, can put students with disabilities at a disadvantage.”  (Ceres, 2023)

For additional resources for developing transparent and equitable assignments and assessments, see the Transparency in Learning and Teaching project or contact MIT’s Disability and Access Services at: accessibility [at] mit.edu.

Finally, whether you plan to leverage AI or push back against its use in your subjects – it is useful to know about existing AI tools and applications. For a comprehensive and current list, see https://www.futurepedia.io/.

WE ARE HERE TO HELP

Would you like to rethink your real goals for student learning?

Would you like to redesign your assignments and assessments (and possibly the way you teach) to better support those goals?

Are you interested in leveraging the utility of generative AI to create more meaningful assignments and more authentic learning experiences?

Contact us (TLL@mit.edu) with your suggestions, questions, and ideas. What are your strategies for engaging with this new reality? We are happy to collaborate with you on the development of effective approaches and to share ideas with the MIT community.

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