UA symposium spotlights AI
Tech is changing education, work, says innovation expert
FAYETTEVILLE — Taking into consideration that artificial intelligence — which is improving rapidly — can already do “C”-level work, professors will need to “raise the bar” of expectations for students, according to higher education innovation expert José Antonio Bowen.
“We have to think about grading in a new way,” said Bowen, founder of the eponymous Bowen Innovation Group LLC, which provides innovation, instruction, and diversity and inclusion consulting and training not only for colleges and universities, but also for Fortune 500 companies like AT&T, Chevron, Pfizer, Toyota and Walmart. If students can produce work only “as good as what AI can” produce, why would an employer hire those students?
Every job is going to change — “jobs are made of tasks” — and 100% of jobs have at least one task AI can do better, said Bowen, who has led innovation efforts for more than four decades at Stanford University, Georgetown University, and the University of Southampton (U.K.), then as a dean at Miami University and Southern Methodist University. “AI is changing ‘average,’ so your ‘C’ students are no longer employable.”
Bowen was the featured presenter Thursday at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville’s Winter Teaching Symposium on campus. AI was the main theme, but faculty also heard about student engagement and persistence strategies from the university’s own Heather Walker, 2023 recipient of the Ro Di Brezzo Service to Teaching Award.
Students are already using plenty of AI, including “for thinking, which is kind of scary,” and professors will have to incorporate AI into instruction, because attempting to ban AI is not only impractical — AI “detectors” make mistakes and are easy to
defeat — but also deleterious to student learning, said Bowen, who has four degrees from Stanford (and was honored as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar by his alma mater).
He also has written more than 100 scholarly articles and received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Students will need to use AI in their careers — “what [academia] calls cheating, the world is going to call progress” — so they need to become familiar with it while in school, Bowen said.
“Assignments that use AI as a tool are going to be the new go-to,” said Bowen, whose latest book — on teaching with AI, co-written with C. Edward Watson — is due out this spring. Not only do they prepare students for jobs, but — perhaps paradoxically — they also make it “harder to cheat,” he said.
For example, one assignment could entail a student “conversing” with a historic figure via AI, then asking several followup questions to that figure, then showing all of this work in the assignment they submit, he said. Those followup questions are the key — as they measure the “thinking” of the students — and “you can’t cheat.”
It’s paramount for students to ask professors what level — if any — of AI use is acceptable for a given assignment, according to Chris Bryson, executive director of the university’s Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity. Each professor has a different perspective on how much to integrate AI into the classroom.
The Office of Academic Integrity advises students it’s important to obtain permission to use artificial intelligence from their instructors prior to using it; otherwise it could result in an academic dishonesty violation, according to the university. Faculty members with concerns about the use of AI on student assignments are encouraged to reach out to honesty@uark. edu for advice, and the university also has a list of resources at https://tips.uark.edu/whatis-chatgpt/.
Faculty also ought to set expectations for students, stating “clearly and repeatedly” they don’t allow use of AI for assignments, according to the university. The same is true for faculty who do allow some use of AI by students — “let them know to what extent they can use it and how to cite it.”
It’s imperative to discuss AI with students, not only to prevent inadvertent cheating, but also to build relevance in the course, Bowen said. “You need to state when it’s forbidden or allowed, and why.”
Educators should also consider whether students need to disclose AI prompts and how AI should be credited or cited, he said. Students also need to be reminded the ultimate responsibility for their work lies with them, not AI.
“I’ve never used AI, but I’m certainly interested in learning more about it,” said Amanda Lenora Green-Turner, a member of the university’s music faculty who was among the attendees Thursday.
AI can benefit workers, including professors, in myriad ways, Bowen said. For example, AI can tutor, write emails “in my voice,” feed ideas to make classes more relevant, produce prompts for assignments, provide feedback on writing, act as a research assistant, write applications and proposals, and develop visual and video demonstrations.
AI is “like an eager intern; you have to explain everything, but it’ll do anything you want it to do,” he said. “AI can and should be making your life easier [by] offloading tedious tasks, [and] you’ll be happier.”
AI is also going to change “thinking,” however, as “we now have a co-thinker,” he said. AI can generate an immense quantity of ideas, but the human element is required to select the best of those ideas.
Bowen was able to create an AI avatar of himself speaking — in Chinese, which he does not speak — that looked highly authentic, and it took only “two minutes,” he said. “That’s how easy this is,” which is both “amazing” and “scary.”
Though Bowen is passionate about the positive possibilities of AI, he admits he’s not “all-in,” because of some of the dangers, he said. “I am worried, but we can’t stick our heads in the sand.
“I don’t think we can ignore it,” but it’s not necessary to “master” AI, he said. “You don’t have to ‘master’ the internet,” either, but, rather, be proficient enough to navigate it successfully.
The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center, the Teaching Academy, the Office of Faculty Affairs, and the Provost’s Office organized Thursday’s symposium.
Student attendance — from grade schools to colleges — has decreased dramatically in the wake of the pandemic, and there are multiple reasons why, but a main cause is that students “got out of the habit” during remote learning, said Walker, who is the associate department head and teaching assistant professor in chemical engineering. She surveyed several UA-Fayetteville students about why they attend class, and the top reasons were: interesting class content, attendance increases learning, attendance results in better grades, feeling of connection with professor, relevant class content, and connection with classmates.
Of those top six, the professor is “an important part” of four of them, which means professors aren’t powerless against absenteeism, she said. Additionally, the top reasons for not attending class were lack of a connection to the professor and bad class times — “nobody likes a 7:30 a.m. class.”
Professors can motivate students to attend by building connections, providing relevant and engaging presentations, and being passionate and engaged, she said. On the first day of class, Walker tells students about herself and asks them to share about themselves “to start the dialogue [so] we all get to know each other.”
Green-Turner also shares information about herself with students early in the course and asks them to do likewise, said the assistant teaching professor for voice. Because her class involves so much singing, it’s critical for everyone to be “comfortable’’ with one another.
Walker aims for “positive, warm” interactions early with students and spends the first week of class with a “connections and engagement mindset,” she said. She also calls on students “early and often,” because, if she waits only for volunteers, the same handful of students will be the dominant voices in class.
Walker also has students turn in work in person and gives work back to them in person, she said. Admittedly “old school,” this also “meets a lot of needs,” Walker said.
She also emphasizes “relevance” of course material and connects it to “real life,” current events, other courses, and future careers, she said. “We have competition out there,” including online resources — “YouTube videos are huge” — so “be a value-added classroom” through use of active learning strategies, small-group work, guest speakers, and physical examples, Walker said.
Bowen spends the first hour of class with new students strictly on relevance, he said. “Relevance is a good strategy.”
Walker said she posts all her class videos, but it hasn’t negatively affected attendance.
“They use the videos to study for tests,” she said.
Students who miss class but hear about it later should be “sad” they missed it, she said. “That’s what I want.”
Each class, she said, should pass “the roommate test.”
When a student wants to tell his or her roommate what happened in class, that’s “the greatest praise,” Walker said.