AI Across CUNY

> Home / Academic Affairs / Teaching and Learning Center / AI Across CUNY

AI and Pedagogy: A CUNY Repository

Welcome to this repository on AI and Pedagogy. The Teaching and Learning Center developed this resource to help faculty explore the intersection of AI and education. Our goal is to provide a collaborative space for sharing effective strategies for the responsible and critical use of AI, particularly within the CUNY community.

Introduction to AI in Education

We begin with foundational concepts to ensure a shared understanding.

What is Generative AI? Generative AI refers to AI models capable of creating new content—such as text, images, or code—based on user prompts. Popular examples include platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini.

What is AI Literacy? This goes beyond simply knowing how to operate AI tools. It involves a deep understanding of how these systems function, their ethical implications, and their inherent limitations and biases. Fostering AI literacy prepares both students and faculty to become discerning users.

AI and the Student Experience

This section is dedicated to the student experience, focusing on how learners can leverage AI as a valuable tool for academic and creative support while upholding standards of academic integrity.

Using AI for Academic Support
- Overcoming Writer's Block: Students can utilize AI as a brainstorming partner to generate initial ideas, explore different approaches to a topic, or outline an argument.
- As a Study Companion: AI can function as a virtual tutor, providing simplified explanations of complex concepts, creating personalized quizzes, or summarizing long articles to help students learn at their own pace.
- Enhancing Writing: Students can obtain instant feedback on grammar, spelling, and style, allowing them to focus on the substance and quality of their work.
Navigating Academic Integrity
- Clarity is Key: Establishing a clear and transparent course policy on AI is crucial. Policies can range from prohibiting all AI use on an assignment to requiring its use with proper documentation.
- Attribution and Citation: If students use AI-generated content, they must cite it appropriately. Like any other source, this practice promotes transparency and accountability in their academic work.

AI and the Faculty Experience

This is a space for educators to share practical ways to integrate AI into their teaching. The aim is to use AI to enhance efficiency while ensuring students are deeply engaged in learning.

Educating Ourselves

It's impossible to fully understand the uses and misuses of generative AI without first having a deep, personal connection to the tools available to our students. We encourage all faculty to experiment with these platforms. Something as simple as understanding how AI responds to your own prompts or submitting your own writing to an AI detection service to see its accuracy can smooth out the entire process. We cannot discuss AI with our students if we are not educated about it ourselves.

Redesigning Assignments and Assessments

Focus on the Process: We encourage moving beyond grading the final product by requiring students to submit process notes, outlines, or annotated bibliographies. This helps demonstrate their thought process.
Make Assignments Personal: Designing assignments that AI cannot complete without personal context is an effective strategy. Examples include projects requiring personal reflection, real-world application, or the use of specific in-class materials.
Diversify Assessments: Consider combining traditional tests with alternative methods such as oral exams, live presentations, or group projects to assess student understanding in ways that are less susceptible to AI misuse.

AI as a Teaching Partner

Saving Time on Administrative Tasks: AI can be used to quickly create multiple versions of a quiz or a large bank of practice questions, allowing faculty to focus on more direct student engagement.
Giving Better Feedback, Faster: Tools like Gradescope can help streamline the grading process, and platforms such as Brisk Teaching can provide personalized feedback on student drafts.
Creating Better Content: AI assistants like Eduaide.Ai can assist with designing lesson plans, graphic organizers, and educational games.

This is a central repository for projects and resources from the CUNY community. We have included the links so you can explore these initiatives yourself. More will be added over time.