This area focusses on some implementation ideas for using AI within Teaching and Learning. The implementation ideas set out below will develop and grow as we share more practice across the University. However, it is designed as a starting point for some basic ideas of how AI can be used to help facilitate learning and teaching activities within the classroom. Before attempting the embedding of AI within the classroom, please refer to the considerations for design, ethical impacts and strengths and limitations of AI based tools pages. It is also recommended that you have these discussions with your students if you are intending to use the tools so that their expectations are managed. These areas have been split into different activity approaches, as defined by Dianne Laurillard in her conversational framework (web | external link).

Concept understanding

Students can use AI to look up core concepts and ask for ideas about how they would be applied in context. This can be a useful activity to conduct either independently or in groups to clarify terminology and ideas . However, it is recommended to check and compare the answer with wider resources to ensure that the information is correct.

Simplifying complex ideas in multiple formats

With the wide range of AI outputs available to staff and students, it can be a useful tool to display information in new and engaging ways. Not only can AI be used to break down complex ideas, but it can also be used to adapt the idea into new formats such as infographics. These can then be used in presentations or expert groups to share with the wider class.

Summarise, Read, and Extend

AI is able to summarise articles in bitesize chunks and can be a useful way for students to consume articles or data to develop their own understanding. However, AI will also be able to take that summary and develop some core questions to extend the students’ knowledge and this will require them to look through the article in more depth to evidence.

Facilitate Discussions

Many AI tools have a chat/reply function built in and can act as a discussion facilitator. This can be applied in two ways: either you can ask the AI tool to generate a list of questions based around a particular scenario or topic, which the group then work through, or you can use the AI as another voice in the discussion (i.e., feedback your group’s thoughts and getting the AI to extend this by asking it for wider considerations).

Case Study Scenario Generation

To help facilitate a discussion it can be useful to have AI produce a scenario or case study to use as a basis for the conversation. This will enable discussion and application of knowledge on the given subject. You will have to be specific in your prompt if you would like it written in a particular style or approach. AI can also help to provide some questions to think about when looking at a case study as a way to extend or support learners throughout the activity.

Bad example creation

We learn just as much from bad examples as we do good. By creating a purposefully bad example and getting students to analyse and discuss what they would change, students are able to apply their own understanding and learning and reflect upon what good practice looks like. AI can be used to create examples of reports, safety plans, presentations etc.

Debate

AI can be used as part of a debate to help stimulate conversation. You can ask AI to write some persuasive arguments based around one key side of the debate, and students can then work in groups to form a rebuttal based on the information created. AI can also be prompted to reply to the arguments your team have created to get additional feedback and justification.

Situation application

Applying skills in context is a useful area of development for students. AI can be asked to create a situation based around a core knowledge area as a case study. In order to generate these more complex outputs, prompts can require some work, especially if you are asking it to feedback on what it would do in a particular situation. You may need to mention specific formats, frameworks or approaches that you would like it to use to create the scenario. It is recommended to tell the AI that you would like feedback on how to improve your work.

Skills development coach

Most AI’s have the ability to feedback on key inputs that they are given. For example, AI systems are able to develop or read coding and can give feedback on core problem areas. This can be a useful learning tool that will also enable students to work with AI to develop code and learn from their mistakes. However, this can be applied to wider skills and can be used as a coach to help students develop their skills dependent on their subject-specific discipline.

AI as a Researcher

AI as a research tool can be used to bring together an accumulation of information. This can be especially useful as a starting point when researching and enables students to gather a mass of information relatively quickly. There are specific research-focused AIs available; however, it is important to consider the source and trustworthiness of the information found to ensure accuracy.

Expert groups

This is a jig-sawing exercise where different groups go off to research key information about different topic areas. Each group compiles their research and can then feed this back to the session in a microteach approach. AI can be used as part of the researching toolset they have available, or even to generate content (e.g. summaries, slides, infographics) to share back to the group based on what has been found.

Comparing and contrasting

AI can be used to compare and contrast two approaches, arguments and ideas and give some feedback on the differences between them. This can be useful when looking at key elements of research to form critical arguments.

Feedback approaches

AI can be used to identify and give feedback on elements of work as a way of providing direction to students’ development. However, the way which feedback is actioned needs to be considered, especially if being used for assessment-based work. AI should be used to identify areas of development but not be used to paraphrase or rewrite content.

Ideation

AI can be a useful source of inspiration when creating new ideas or outputs. Students can use AI in the classroom to look at ideas for lesson plans, presentation ideas, structuring support. It can also be used to create elements of multimedia to share with the wider class as a way of presenting information.

Create and Evaluate

AI can be used to create a wide variety of materials for both staff and students. One way in which this can be used is as an evaluative exercise, by getting the AI to create content or to explore a concept, then using appropriate frameworks or evaluative approaches to foster critical thinking to improve and develop the idea.

Changing Formats

AI tools can be useful if you have a base format (such as a document etc.) that you would like converted into a wide array of formats. By adding a basic prompt, the information held within the document can be redesigned as multimedia or new formats. For example, AI can easily take text and reformat it into a much more visual approach including presentation formats or infographics to help display information more readily. This could be useful for when students are presenting information back to the classroom in the form of a mini teach or presentation.

Create Revision Guides

AI can be used as a researcher to help gather the information, but sometimes collating information into a readable format can be difficult. If students have already gathered accurate information, AI can be used to summarise, collate and clarify information which can then be created into a simple revision guide that can be shared amongst the class by the lecturer.