AI guidance being developed for teaching staff

New guidance around the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on teaching, learning and assessment is being developed for colleagues at Reading.

A new AI Working Group has been considering how we will take a positive, educational approach to the potential use of generative AI as part of teaching, learning and assessments at Reading.

A University Position Statement produced by the group was approved this week and guidance for teaching colleagues and students will now be produced, and our Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct Policy updated, for the start of the Autumn Term.

The guidance will outline how we can most effectively and ethically harness AI tools to enhance learning and student experience. Work will continue to explore how students can be supported to use generative AI responsibly and transparently, and how we might equip them with AI skills and knowledge that will increasingly be a key graduate attribute in the modern workplace.

The AI Working Group will now use the Position Statement, which has had input from academic colleagues, Readings Students’ Union officers, as well as specialist T&L and study advice colleagues, to develop a detailed policy on AI in teaching, learning and assessment, in collaboration with our Academic Integrity Working Group.

The policy will be in place by the end of 2023, to inform both the next summer exam period and the updating of modules for the 2024/25 academic year.

The work is coordinated with our ongoing Portfolio Review, which is aimed at reviewing our teaching offering and continuing our push towards more authentic assessment. As well as enhancing student learning outcomes, this also plays a role in minimising scope for misuse of AI in assessment.

Moving with the times

Professor Elizabeth McCrum, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), said: “We have known for some time that generative AI will be transformative across society, including higher education, so I’m grateful for the work that colleagues have been doing for some time to develop Reading’s response.

“AI is here to stay, and so we must move with the times and ensure our teaching and assessment methods, and support provided to students, reflect the modern world.”

The AI Working Group includes both academic and student representatives alongside experts from CQSD and the Study Advice team. The University aims to ultimately support the use of AI tools to enhance students’ studies, while at the same time maintaining our existing high academic standards and integrity.

Potential uses for AI include creating prompts to generate classroom discussion, while student assessment might focus more heavily on higher-level critical thinking with which chatbots often struggle.

This work draws on developments already taking place in the sector, including by the Russell Group and Quality Assurance agency (QAA). It includes consultation with colleagues and Reading Students’ Union.