Communicating with Your Students About AI

Talking with and teaching your students how to interface with technology鈥�whether that鈥檚 GenAI or another form of technology鈥搃s foundational to a teaching practice that will prepare students for the literacies they will need in their future, whether inside or outside the classroom. 

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Set clear expectations

The more you can set clear expectations and cultivate trust, the more likely you鈥檒l be to a clear path together through what can feel like uncharted territory. 

  • Providing students with clear zones of engagement with AI encourages them to adopt a mindset around engagement with AI that is context-dependent, teaching them that their interface with this鈥� and any鈥� technology is dynamic and requires flexibility in its appropriate use. 
  • One Faculty Perspective: : Sellers-Garc铆a, Boston College, reflects on what she learned from talking to her students about AI and rethinking some of her assignments.

Recommended Assignment Conventions

Below are some recommended visual conventions (please feel free to cut and paste into your own documents) to signal to students how and when to appropriately use generative AI in your classes, whether this is an overall disposition or you want to consider differentiating this by assessment. PLEASE consider putting something like this right on your syllabus and talk about it up front and throughout the semester or even per each assessment! . Download your own copy of the AI Visuals .

red circle that says ai-free human brains only

AI-FREE ASSIGNMENT | No AI use allowed

  • For learning to happen in this assignment, it's necessary to do your own thinking without AI assistance.
yellow circle that says ai-limited, follow guidelines. there is a lightbulb in the center of the image

AI-LIMITED ASSIGNMENT | You can use AI within Guidelines

You can use AI within the guidelines provided in the assignment. Examples include:

  • Ideation and Research (AI can be used to help generate ideas, organization and information gathering)
  • Limited Word Usage (AI language can be inserted but cited within an assignment)
green circle with text that says ai-friendly, use responsibly

AI-FRIENDLY ASSIGNMENT | Use Responsibly

You can use AI in this assignment at will, but it should be cited. See this for guidance.

Update 7/26/2024

Also, please note that 鈥渨riting assistance鈥� services like Grammarly now incorporate chatbot features that function like ChatGPT or Gemini, so please flag this for your students if you are asking them not to use generative technologies in their assessed work. Download a copy of this table .

Additional Resources

  • Ideas for Teaching with AI
  • As teachers at a Catholic university, Marquette instructors may also find helpful the careful and detailed study of artificial intelligence in today鈥檚 world () disseminated by leading scholars in the area under the auspices of the Vatican鈥檚 Dicastery for Culture and Education. Special sections on relationality, education, healthcare, the economy, and stewardship of the earth are of particular relevance. 
  • Check out this curated  on the topic of the nature and context of emerging generative technologies (like AI, machine learning, and chatbots) from Marquette Digital Scholarship Librarian Maxwell Gray and Academic Integrity Director Jacob Riyeff. The guide is designed to help students and faculty discern how they may want to use or approach generative technologies like chatbots and related machine-learning technologies in their research, teaching, and learning.

  • Check out this excellent resource from Gettysburg College:

Syllabus Language for Your Students

The use of AI in your classes (sections of the information below are taken from the University of Minnesota and provide guidance on how to communicate expectations to students):

Discussions about the use (and potential abuse) of artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT have been dominating headlines. Our entire university community is learning to adapt to this new terrain, and it can sometimes be hard to know what is or is not acceptable use. The permissibility of artificial intelligence tools will vary from course to course depending on the specific learning and assessment goals of the instructor. You may have already heard from your instructor(s) about their policy in their classes, in their assignments and on their finals. If you have not received clarification from an instructor, and if you are thinking about using ChatGPT or another AI tool for any course assignment, I encourage you to communicate with your instructor to make sure you understand what is permitted.

The following syllabus statements act as a resource for faculty and instructors, with options ranging from 鈥渘o restrictions鈥� to 鈥淐hatGPT and other AI tools may not be used under any circumstances.鈥� These statements may be adopted or adapted to reflect a given instructor's course learning objectives and instructional/assessment style.

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For instructors who wish to embrace ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI) language models, such as ChatGPT, may be used for any assignment with appropriate citation. Examples of citing AI language models are available at the APA Style website [or provide an alternative reference appropriate for your class].

NOTE: You are responsible for fact checking statements composed by AI language models.

For instructors who wish to allow limited usage of ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI) language models, such as ChatGPT, may be used for [assignment types A, B & C] with appropriate citation, but not for [assignment types D, E & F]. If you are in doubt as to whether you are using AI language models appropriately in this course, I encourage you to discuss your situation with me. Examples of citing AI language models are available at the APA Style website [or provide an alternative reference appropriate for your class].

NOTE: You are responsible for fact checking statements composed by AI language models.

For instructors who wish to prohibit the usage of ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI) language models, such as ChatGPT, and online assignment help tools, such as Chegg庐, are examples of online learning support platforms: they cannot be used for course assignments except as explicitly authorized by the instructor. The following actions are prohibited in this course [remove bullets as necessary]:

  • Submitting all or any part of an assignment statement to an online learning support platform;
  • Incorporating any part of an AI generated response in an assignment;
  • Using AI to brainstorm, formulate arguments, or template ideas for assignments;
  • Using AI to summarize or contextualize source materials;
  • Submitting your own work for this class to an online learning support platform for iteration or improvement.

Excerpts from University of Minnesota. (2023). ChatGPT Syllabus statements.