Aimee Jones
Assignments & Activities Archive
Activity Description
This activity demonstrates how to ethically use two Generative AI tools in the research stage of the writing process. In the last year, AI writing tools, most notably Chat GPT, have generated academic-integrity related concerns for university administrators and instructors. In a study conducted from the Spring to Fall semesters of 2023, half of students reported regular use of GenAI; however, their usage was relatively “unsophisticated,” according to the GenAI in Higher Education Fall 2023 Update (Shaw et al. 4). While AI tools do present academic-integrity concerns, embracing AI ethically and finding ways to negotiate specific spaces for it within the college composition classroom could be very useful for doing some of the more labor-intensive work in the writing process. This activity instructs students on how to use AI tools ethically for research purposes by drawing on DEER praxis which emphasizes, “defined engagements with AI tools for specific purposes, and generous use of reflection” (Cummings et al. 1). More specifically, this activity breaks the research process into stages, evaluates and explores a specific AI tool for each stage, and provides a space for reflection and discussion. In doing so, the activity gives instructors a space to invite effective AI use for specific purposes in the college composition classroom while also promoting the ethical usage of the new technology.