Using GenAI in Teaching and Learning

GenAI is trained on a vast pool of content and artefacts and as a result, can be useful for gathering basic information about a topic as part of initial research activities.

When using GenAI in this way, students should always be advised that:

• the outputs of the tool are only as accurate and up-to-date as the content on which the tool has been trained. If the data on which the tool has been trained is outdated, the outputs will also be outdated. Similarly, if a GenAI tool is trained on biased information (and many such tools are), the outputs will also reflect these biases.  
• they should check all references and cited sources. GenAI is notorious for generating false citations.
• they should verify all facts and data. Never consider the output as a unique source, and complement and contrast the information with other sources.

The following excerpt from Trinity’s School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies provides a useful example of GenAI used in this way and related guidance:

GenAI can be a useful tool for summarising content from a wide range of sources,   generating key takeaways, highlighting actionable tasks, or identifying key information from a data pool (e.g. an excel spreadsheet).

When using GenAI in this way, students should be advised to:

• ensure that any document or information that they are inputting into GenAI does not compromise privacy or intellectual property. (For example, it would be a breach of privacy to ask GenAI to summarise private emails.)
• check that key information is captured and accurately represented and interpreted.

While the current limitations of GenAI technologies can present various risks for staff and students, these limitations can also present an opportunity for developing and strengthening students’ critical thinking and analytical skills.  
For example:

• Ask students to compare two GenAI outputs generated in response to the same prompt with a view to identifying bias, decontextualised content, inaccuracies and/or fake information. This will help students to understand the limitations of the tools and strengthen their critical skills.
• Ask students to design a solution for a particular problem. Then ask them to use GenAI to generate a solution for the same problem. By comparing both solutions, students can get an insight into different arguments or problem-solving strategies.

Ask students to create a prompt for a particular question/task/problem within your discipline. (For example “Can you identify three ways of reducing water consumption?”)
Then ask students to (a) verify the accuracy of the references and (b) find 3-5 additional reliable resources to back up the output. In a post-task discussion, ask students to consider and reflect on the accuracy and reliability of the GenAI output (including references) and how these compare to other reliable resources.
By cultivating a critical approach, students learn to question and challenge the source and indeed the logic behind what they read, including AI-generated text.

GenAI tools (such as chatbots) can provide personalised learning support, catering to students’ unique needs and learning preferences. For example, GenAI can be used to create customised learning materials and revision notes in response to individual student prompts and it can provide immediate feedback. This level of personalisation combined with a critical approach, can be invaluable for students who require additional support or guidance outside of the classroom.

When using GenAI in this way, students should be advised to:

• read the output carefully and consider if it has addressed the questions asked;
• consider the accuracy of any revision notes and/or feedback.

What should you NOT do with GenAI?

It is important to understand that some uses of GenAI are illegal and break General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law. For example, just as you are not allowed share private data or sensitive information about colleagues, students or other personal information on websites or via other electronic means, you are NOT allowed to use private student or staff information as part of your queries or instructions when using GenAI tools. Sensitive information includes: personal or identifiable information, financial or health information, passwords, sensitive or classified communications, and legal documents; to do so is illegal as you are sharing private information with a third party (the GenAI provider). Most GenAI tools harvest such information and use the interactions with users for training their systems.

Content which is confidential in Trinity, confidential to your studies or work (research, teaching or administrative), which is not public or for which you do not own the copyright should NOT be used in creating prompts or providing contextual information for GenAI to generate content. This is because sharing such information with another party is against College regulations. For example, it is not appropriate to use confidential university data as input information to a GenAI tool to generate new content. 

How do I cite or acknowledge the use of GenAI ?

Students must disclose and acknowledge the use of GenAI in their academic work and this can be done using various formats. The Library of Trinity College Dublin has developed guidelines on acknowledging and referencing GenAI. Students are advised to check your Blackboard module and/or course handbook to ensure that you are using the correct format.

Sample Guidance from Trinity College Dublin Course Handbooks

Some examples of guidelines on how to reference the use of GenAI are below:

School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies General Handbook 2023-24 (2023, p.27):

Open AI. Accessed 5th Jan 2023. ChatGPT. Accessed at: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/. Prompt: “Give me two scholars who are sceptical of deconstructionist approaches to Italian poetry”.

Centre for Academic Practice Student Handbook 2024-2025 (2024, p.35):

If you use GenAI as part of your work, please adhere to the following: 

• State what tool(s) you used: include the version (for example, ChatGPT 3.5) and add a link to the tool. 
• Explain how (and at what points) you have used the tool(s) to support the completion of your work: for example, to enhance your original work, to brainstorm ideas, to generate materials to support your learning, etc…) 
• Add your prompt (s) and provide details on the outputs generated. (You can add a screenshot) 
• Explain how you used the outputs in your learning or assessment context. 

Can I use, or ask my students to use, GenAI to analyse data (numeric or text-based)?

You may use GenAI if:

1. the data is GDPR compliant, and
2. it does not contain sensitive or private data and
3. If you own or hold the intellectual property / copyright for the data.

Meeting all the conditions mentioned above, you can use GenAI which will give you a starting point for your analysis, but in any case, it should not be used as a unique source. You are required to use other reliable mechanisms and tools to analyse your data.  

Important:

Do not input data for analysis without the consent of the data owner. Do not rely on the GenAI outputs. You should ensure your analysis is complete, accurate, and follows scientific principles.  

(Adapted from the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies Student Handbook in Trinity) 

Can I ask my students to use GenAI for writing activities?

When advising students to use GenAI for writing activities, consider that you and your students should be clear that any learning activity that includes submissions (even if it is not assignments) must be written by each student. You need to guide them to understand that only original work will be considered. If at any stage of the writing process GenAI is used, it should be acknowledged as mentioned above.

In cases where you or your students are using text from a GenAI source, this should be acknowledged and put in quotation marks with a reference as suggested:

Creator. Date of Access. Platform/Tool used. Accessed at: URL. Prompt: “[Text of the prompt you entered].”

Example using ChatGPT:

Open AI. Accessed 5th Jan 2023. ChatGPT. Accessed at: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/. Prompt: “Give me two scholars who are sceptical of deconstructionist approaches to Italian poetry”.

If a student gave multiple prompts, there should be multiple citations.

If a student generates content from a GenAI tool and submits it as their own work, it is considered plagiarism, which is defined as academic misconduct in accordance with the College Academic Integrity Policy. If a sentence or quotation is being used by a student in their answer, then it must be referenced. <A link to College guidelines will be added here when published.>. For more details and examples, please see the GenAI and Asssessment page. Cases of plagiarism are considered under College Academic Misconduct Procedures.

(Adapted from the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies Student Handbook in Trinity) 

Can I or the students use grammar spellcheckers?

Microsoft Word spellchecker and grammar checker (or the equivalents) are fine: they are not considered AI, and you can use them without special acknowledgement – even if the assessment is in a foreign language.

Microsoft Word Editor (accessed by clicking top right in recent versions of Word) is a borderline case. Some markers will not object to this, some will depend on the purpose of the writing, i.e. an essay in an assessment context.

Ensure that your school/programme team has guidelines which students can easily refer to in their course handbook, Blackboard module etc.

(Adapted from the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies Student Handbook in Trinity) 

How can I support my students to author effective prompts for GenAI?

The quality of the prompts is essential not only for a good output but also to avoid plagiarism (see the Assessment page). This is why it is so important to help and support your students to create prompts. Some practices to consider:

• Be specific, clear and detailed on what you are asking GenAI to do. For example, using the prompt ‘find weak ideas or gaps between ideas in this text’ produces different results to a simple prompt such as ‘improve this text’. With the first prompt, student can more fully evaluate how to improve the original and unique ideas of their work.
• Provide specific tasks to focus the AI output.
• Break down complex tasks into multiple short prompts.
• Specify the desired format, tone and style of the output (Elon University and AAC&U, 2024).

For more information on maximizing learning with effective prompt writing, visit the University of Calgary guidelines.