A photo of ChatGPT, one of many AI tools students use to help them with coursework. Credit: Melissa Meloui | Lantern Reporter
As the semester continues, Ohio State’s AI fluency program has prompted questions about how it will impact teaching and the academic lives of students.
Ohio State launched its AI fluency program this Autumn. A main goal is to embed AI tools into coursework so each student from the class of 2029 will graduate AI fluent, per prior Lantern reporting.
Carter Davis, an assistant professor of finance, said that AI is a helpful tool for students and professors to use in classrooms, but also can come with downsides.
When people constantly rely on AI to do tasks for them, their critical thinking skills could weaken. When they are thinking less, they are learning less, Davis said.
“In my experience, most students seem to want to use it, because to some extent it makes things easier,” Davis said.
Davis said that he also regularly uses the tool for his work.
“I use it every day in my research,” Davis said. “I worry that it’s making me less competent in terms of being a writer and being a programmer.”
If students develop an over-reliance on AI for foundational skills that they need throughout their life, a problem could arise, said Detra Price, the executive director of the Center for Digital Learning and Innovation and professor of teaching and learning.
“Turning over that thinking and that decision making to an automated platform or system like AI could be a problem,” Price said.
It can also feel overwhelming for professors to figure out if using AI in their classrooms is helpful to their students or not. There are many unanswered questions when it comes to whether or not AI truly helped their students grow as learners, Price said.
“We really need that kind of feedback from the people who are implementing it, so we need to be in community and conversation with our students,” Price said.
Professors may begin to have higher expectations for assignments and essays, since students now have access to tools that help improve their work, Davis said.
“It’s harder to grade essays because now I expect all essays to be extremely polished,” Davis said.
When students are given access to AI for their coursework, they will be expected to turn in clean and insightful work while still keeping authenticity, Davis said.
Students need to be aware and make ethical decisions on how they use AI in their coursework in order not to detract from their learning, Price said.
“We’re here to learn, and if we’re using tools in ways that get in the way of our learning, we’re doing a disservice,” Price said.
To learn more about Ohio State’s AI Fluency initiative, visit the university’s Office of Academic Affairs website.
