Instructors

Student in foreground raising their hand with classroom and instructor in the background

Guidance for Instructors

As Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) evolves, its integration into the academic environment at the University of Kansas (KU) offers opportunities to enhance teaching and learning. KU supports thoughtful use of AI to enrich course content, support instructional goals, and streamline routine tasks. This guidance reflects the university’s values of collaboration, equity, excellence, integrity, and respect.

Instructional Considerations for Using GenAI

Instructors may choose to teach about or use Generative AI (GenAI) tools as appropriate to the course, level, and discipline. In such cases, the following guidelines are suggested:

  • Communicate expectations to students about coursework and the use of GenAI tools. This may include statements in the course syllabus and reiteration of classroom policy when framing relevant assignments.
  • Remind students of academic integrity obligations, including the practical consequences of academic integrity violations.
  • Use of GenAI plagiarism detection tools is not recommended, as their accuracy is not guaranteed. GenAI plagiarism checkers (such as Turnitin or GPTZero) may produce false positives and may introduce bias against non-native English speakers and students with disabilities.

Center for Teaching Excellence

KU’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) provides extensive guidance on adapting courses to generative AI. CTE resources include support for syllabus language, academic integrity, ethics, prompting, and getting started with GenAI, as well as articles, videos, and podcasts featuring faculty perspectives on AI use in teaching.

CTE Resource Site

Canvas Modules

CTE has also developed AI related instructional modules available through Canvas. Topics include what generative AI is and how it works, how GenAI is being used, risks and limitations such as academic integrity, intellectual property, bias, fabrication, privacy, environmental impact, and AI’s broader effects on society, as well as prompting strategies and the future of work. Instructors interested in using these modules may contact Doug Ward at dbward@ku.edu for access.

Resources from KU Colleagues

KU faculty and staff are researching and writing about artificial intelligence and the intersection with teaching and curricula. 

How Universities Can Move Forward With Generative AI in Teaching and Learning 
by Doug Ward et al. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 56:1 (2024), 47-54.

A Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights for Education 
by Kathryn Conrad. Critical AI blog (July 2023).

Critical AI Literacy for Educators 
a Padlet curated by Kathryn Conrad and Sean Kamperman of the KU English Department. It includes excellent resources on AI literacy, ethics, plagiarism and academic misconduct, policies, potential applications, and tools.

How We Can Turn AI Into an Opportunity Rather Than a Threat 
by Doug Ward. Academic Leader  (2 January 2024).

Indecision About AI in Classes Is So Last Week 
by Doug Ward and colleagues from the Bay View Alliance. Inside Higher Ed (1 December 2023).

The bots are here to stay. Do we deny or do we adapt? 
by Doug Ward, Bloom’s Sixth (20 January 2023).

Resources from Other Universities

AI Pedagogy Project, via metaLab at Harvard. Material about generative AI and examples of its use in classes.

AI Text Generators and Teaching Writing: Starting Points for Inquiry, curated by Anna Mills of the College of Marin and hosted by Colorado State University.

The practical guide to using AI to do stuff, by Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School of Business.

Class policies on use of generative AI, compiled by Lance Eaton of Northeastern University. Material from instructors at several universities.