CTEI's AI Resources

AI in education is a hot topic, and Rush University Medical Center is taking a deep dive into its impact. Faculty and students have concerns about AI stifling critical thinking, ethical use, and plagiarism. Rush is promoting AI literacy and providing resources for faculty. Professor Jo researched AI in education and brought insights back to her classroom. Rush supports faculty and encourages open dialogue about AI. Students shifted their mindset from fear to seeing AI as a tool for learning. Meaningful online discussions can be preserved by designing thoughtful prompts that require critical thinking. Rush encourages students to be critical consumers of AI-generated information. Preventing unauthorized AI use starts with clear expectations and policies. Rush incorporates AI policies in syllabi and provides resources for faculty. Banning AI is not realistic, so it's important to teach students the value of the learning process. Human-AI collaborative writing is a partnership where studen AI in education. It's everywhere you turn these days, right? And it feels like everyone's got an opinion, a prediction, or a completely terrifying what-if scenario. Yeah, it's definitely got people talking, that's for sure. But instead of getting swept up in all the hype, we're gonna get hyper-specific and take a deep dive into what's happening right here at Rush University Medical Center. We've got internal documents on AI's impact, presentations from faculty who are actually using AI in their classrooms. Real boots-on-the-ground stuff. Exactly. And even some student perspectives sprinkled in, which I always find super valuable. Oh, absolutely. Gotta get that student voice in there. Seems like we've got exclusive backstage passes to see how Rush is navigating this whole AI revolution in education. And you know what else struck me? It's refreshing, actually. They're not shying away from the anxiety surrounding AI. In fact, both faculty and students are expressing some pretty major concerns. Well, and rightfully so, right? I mean, these are big questions with potentially big implications. Totally. Like, will AI stifle critical thinking? Is it even ethical to use this technology in an educational setting? Right, and then there's the whole plagiarism thing. Exactly. Which, let's be honest, is a huge concern for any educator. That's like this constant game of cat and mouse. It is. But the thing is, those are all valid concerns, and they're not unique to Rush. Educators everywhere are wrestling with these same questions. We've been handed this incredibly powerful tool, but we're still trying to figure out how to read the instruction manual. It's like that moment you realize you've got way more buttons on your TV remote than you actually understand. Exactly, and that's precisely why the concept of AI literacy is so crucial right now. We need to move beyond the fear and empower ourselves with the knowledge to use this technology effectively and ethically. Okay, I love that. AI literacy. So instead of freaking out, we need to level up our understanding. Precisely, it's about understanding AI from different angles, right? Technical, ethical, pedagogical, social. It's about seeing the bigger picture. So it's not just about knowing how to use the technology, but understanding its implications in a wider context. Exactly. Which, now that you mention it, reminds me of Professor Paula Jo. Her story in the materials really stood out to me. She teaches a writing class at Rush. Okay. And she's incredibly open about how she basically started with the same fears about AI as her students. She even said at one point, I was afraid of what I didn't know about AI. And that's such an honest human reaction, right? It's more common than you might think. Absolutely, and here's where it gets really interesting. Yeah. She didn't just limit her research to AI in healthcare. She decided to go broader, much broader. Really? Yeah, she decided to look at AI in education as a whole to see how other fields were incorporating AI, what was working, what wasn't. Wow, that's smart. So she took a more multifaceted approach. Exactly, and by doing that, by looking at those other perspectives, she was able to bring a wealth of insights and strategies back to her own classroom. That's fantastic. And you know, that approach, it ties back so perfectly to that AI literacy model we were talking about. It does connect, right. It does. It's not just about knowing how to use the tech, but about understanding the why, the how, the potential benefits, the ethical considerations. The whole shebang. Exactly. And you know, it's really encouraging to see how Rush is supporting their faculty through this whole process, like providing resources like the T3 module in Canvas, for example. Oh yeah, and that AI literacy module they put together, that's huge. It is. Not every institution is taking such a proactive approach and it really makes a difference. It does. And I think that support system, those resources, it really shifted the conversation in Professor Jo's classroom in a really positive way. Because initially, her students, they had pretty mixed reactions to AI, right? Oh, I bet. Some excitement, some fear, probably a good dose of skepticism thrown in. Totally. But after diving into the AI literacy modules and having these really honest, open discussions, things started to change. That open dialogue is so important because it creates this safe space for people to voice their concerns, to ask questions, to really wrap their heads around what AI actually means for them and their education. It's like, instead of shying away from a topic that can feel a little bit, well, scary, Rush is leaning in and saying, let's talk about this, let's figure this out together. Right, because it's not going away. Exactly. Like it or not, AI is here to stay. And the best part is, from what I'm gathering from this material, it seems like Professor Jo's students, they kind of made this collective mental shift. Oh. Tell me more. They started seeing AI, not as this scary, job-stealing monster, but as a tool. A tool to enhance their learning, not as a threat to it. You know, all this talk about AI in writing classes gets me thinking about online discussion forums. I mean, they're supposed to be all about engagement and interaction, but let's be honest, how often do you see those I completely agree posts that add absolutely nothing to the conversation? Oh, I've seen my fair share of those. It's like the online equivalent of someone nodding politely in the back row. Right, but here's the thing. The source material actually highlights how crucial those discussions are, especially in online courses. They're a way to demonstrate substantive interaction, which is often a requirement for accreditation. Exactly. It's about proving that students are actively engaging with the material and with each other. But now there's this whole other layer of complexity. What happens when AI can generate those responses for students? Are we headed for a future of hollow discussions filled with AI-generated fluff? That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? But I don't think we should throw in the towel on meaningful online discussions just yet. Tell me more. What can we do to combat this AI-generated apathy? It all comes down to thoughtful prompt design. Instead of asking surface-level questions that AI can easily answer, we need to push students to think critically and connect the dots. So instead of asking what are the main types of cells, we should be asking how would our understanding of the human body be different if we didn't have microscopes to study cells? Now you're getting it. And there are some really creative examples in the Rush University material of how faculty are redesigning their discussion prompts. One that stood out to me was having students analyze the output of two different AI systems and then compare their results. Wow, that's brilliant. It's not just about finding the right answer. It's about analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of different AI tools. Exactly. It's about teaching students to be critical consumers of AI-generated information. I love that. It's like we're giving them the skills to navigate a world where AI is everywhere, not just in the classroom. But let's be real. What about unauthorized AI use in student work? If a student uses AI to write a discussion post, how can we even tell? It's a valid concern. And AI detection tools are still playing catch-up. They're not foolproof. And there's always the risk of falsely accusing a student. So if we can't always rely on technology to be the AI police, what can we do? Instead of focusing on catching students using AI inappropriately, we need to shift our mindset towards prevention. Prevention. What does that look like in practice? It starts with clear expectations from day one. We need to explicitly address AI use in our syllabi and assignment guidelines. So instead of assuming students understand the ethical implications, we need to spell it out clearly. No more gray areas. Right. And Rush University is actually leading by example here. They've incorporated explicit AI policies into their syllabi and have even created resources for faculty on how to adjust these issues with students. That makes a lot of sense. But wouldn't it just be easier to ban AI altogether? It might seem easier in the short term, but here's the reality. AI isn't going away. Trying to ban it is like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. It's not a realistic solution. So if we can't avoid it, how do we embrace it without letting students see it as a shortcut to avoid doing the work? We need to emphasize the why behind our assignments. Why are we asking students to engage in these discussions? Why is it important for them to develop these skills? I see. If they understand the value of the learning process, they're less likely to reach for AI as an easy way out. Exactly. It's not just about teaching them how to use AI. It's about teaching them when and why to use it. Which brings us to a concept that I find incredibly exciting. Human-AI collaborative writing. OK, I have to admit, that sounds a little futuristic. What exactly does that mean? Think of it as a partnership. The student and the AI work together on a writing assignment, each bringing their own strengths to the table. So the student might provide the creative spark, the critical thinking, the unique insights. Well, AI helps with things like research, organization, maybe even grammar and style. You got it. And this isn't some far-off concept. Rush University has actually developed a rubric for evaluating this kind of human-AI collaborative writing. They've even developed a rubric. They're not messing around. They're really thinking ahead about what the future of writing looks like in an AI-powered world. Exactly. And it makes you wonder, how will this change the way we assess student work? How can we create assessments that measure not just what they know, but how well they can collaborate with these powerful tools? It's a really exciting time to be in education. You know, going through all of this, it really does make you think about AI and education differently. I feel like it's so easy to get caught up in all the what ifs and the unknowns. The fear factor. Exactly. But what if, instead of being afraid, what if we looked at it as, I don't know, like an opportunity? Absolutely. See, the possibilities instead of the threats. Yeah, exactly. Maybe this whole AI thing isn't the end of education as we know it. Maybe it's the beginning of something, well, something new and exciting. A new chapter. Exactly. And I have to say, what we're seeing at Rush University, it gives me a lot of hope. It's like they're writing that new chapter right before our eyes. They really are. And the best part, this isn't a solo mission. They're bringing people along on the journey. They're hosting workshops, providing resources, creating a space for open dialogue. Yeah, I was going to say, those workshops they're doing on AI and research and writing. Those are fantastic. A perfect example of how to navigate these uncharted waters, right? It's like they're saying, hey, we don't have all the answers. Yeah. But we're figuring things out, and we want to figure them out together. Collaboration is key. We're all in this together. Right. Which, speaking of collaboration, there was something else that really struck me while I was going through all these materials. Oh, tell me more. So there was this comment about the speed of AI adoption, right? And apparently, and this kind of surprised me, education. It's outpacing the medical field when it comes to AI in some ways. Hmm, that is interesting. You'd think it'd be the other way around, right? Health care being so technology driven. Right, exactly. It made me wonder, are there things that, I don't know, maybe things that health care educators could learn from other fields when it comes to incorporating AI? I mean, it's definitely worth considering. Maybe we need to broaden our horizons a bit, look outside of our own little world, and see what's happening elsewhere. Absolutely. There's so much we can learn from each other. Different fields, different perspectives, different approaches. Exactly. So as we wrap things up here, it really is about, I don't know, taking a moment to reflect. Little introspection. Yeah. So think about your own teaching context for a moment. Think about how these insights, these strategies, everything we've been talking about here. From AI literacy to human AI collaboration. Exactly. Think about how it could all be applied in your classroom, right here, right now. Start small, maybe. What's one thing you can do differently? Right. One little change you can make today to start preparing your students for a future where AI isn't this distant thing. It's just part of life. Because it's not going away, is it? It's here to stay. So let's make sure we're using it wisely, ethically. That we're using it to enhance learning, not hinder it. To empower. Not to, I don't know, to overpower or whatever. Well, honestly, it's about striking that balance, right? And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of careful thought, a little bit of, I don't know, maybe even a little bit of courage to embrace the unknown, maybe AI could actually help us unlock a whole new world of possibilities for education. I like the way you think. Thanks for diving into this with me. Always a pleasure.