Faculty at PNW is trying to define the right role for artificial intelligence in classes. 

Most people acknowledge that AI is becoming part of everyday life, but professors are concerned that overreliance on it can compromise student education.

“When used incorrectly, it can hinder [students’] learning, and take away from their experience in the classroom and devalue their entire college degree,” said Toqa Hassan, assistant professor of Digital Media. 

Hassan said she encourages students to use AI to “help them resolve an issue, troubleshoot a section of code or understand a new concept that is confusing them.”

Catherine Gillotti, interim chair for Curriculum & Student Success for the College of Humanities, Education and Social Studies agrees that AI has a place in curriculum, but is concerned that students may use it as a shortcut that hurts them.

“The only way we get better at doing any skill is to practice, practice, practice,” she said. “If we rely on AI to write our speeches or our papers for us, then we are not practicing those vital skills”

The Purdue University system has been wrestling with the issue of how to best incorporate AI into classes.  The system has begun to create guidelines, but they are evolving every semester. 

Emily Hixon, director of the Center for Faculty Excellence and an Education professor, said that while AI is appealing, critical thinking skills cannot be learned through AI. 

“Students are going to need critical thinking skills, and have to understand the writing process to understand what good writing looks like in order to use … AI in a meaningful way,” she said. 

Hixon said faculty members believe students need to get educated on fundamentals – like critical thinking – to make better use of AI.

“We are really trying to get students to develop skills without AI,” she said. “We need [students] to have those vital skills so [they] can make good use of those [AI] tools.” 

Hixon said the goal is to provide students with all the skills they need after graduating.

 “A lot of faculty are really trying to look at how businesses and other organizations that might be hiring our students, will be using [AI],” she said. “[They] think about what could help students develop specific skills that will be expected to be used by their future employers.”