Don’t mention it?
Ignoring GenAI and hoping students will do the same is unrealistic. Research indicates increasing usage of these tools among students. A study by Malmström et al. (2023) showed that about a third of Swedish university students regularly used chatbots by summer 2023, although most were unaware of their university's policies regarding their use. Similarly, Freeman (2024) reported that over half of UK university students had used GAI tools for assessments by early 2024, with a small percentage simply copying text without editing.
Our future students are also using these tools: a Youth Barometer survey (Ungdoms Barometern, 2023) indicated that 75 % of Swedish individuals aged 15-24 had tried GenAI tools in 2023, and 55 % admitted to using AI for educational tasks in ways they believed were not allowed. A study at LTH (Loft, 2024) showed that students are interested in using GenAI, partly to help them to learn and partly because they believe it will be important to them in future employment, but are anxious because they are not sure what is allowed and whether they might accidentally mislead the examiner.
Teachers are worried too. Although we don’t currently have so much data on what university teachers are thinking, 63 % of Swedish school teachers are worried about students using AI to cheat on coursework (Sveriges Lärare, 2024).
Embracing Open Dialogue
We have a responsibility to clarify the use of GenAI in courses. Admitting that we're not experts in AI is fine; students respect our subject expertise and value an honest, open environment for learning discussions (Persson et al. 2023). Proactive discussions help students use these tools ethically, effectively, and responsibly.
If faced with a question you can't answer, just say you will need to think about it and will respond to it in a future session. You can then discuss it with colleagues or contact us via servicedesk [at] lu [dot] se (servicedesk[at]lu[dot]se).
Don’t forget that the Unit for Educational Services can offer support in the form of events and online resources to help you decide whether and how to use GenAI tools in your courses.
Take part in the Unit for Educational Services events and online resources
Some conversation starters
I would suggest using a short time near the beginning of the course where you can talk about these issues, and then returning to the topic two or three times during the term, particularly close to an examination point. Possible ways to open the conversation are:
- In-class discussions: use the think, pair, share technique to involve everyone. You can take notes, or ask students to hand in a short answer from each pair/group, or to use a Padlet to summarise their thoughts. Allocate 10-20 minutes for topics such as:
- What are your likes or dislikes about GenAI tools?
- What concerns do you have about GenAI tools?
- How could GenAI tools be used in our class? Is this a good idea?
- What rules should govern GenAI tool usage in this class?
Read more about the "think, pair, share" technique on Kent State University's website - kent.edu
Draft guidelines for the class (see the editable template below) and ask for comments. Then you could vote on the final wording – you can use Mentimeter for anonymous voting or just simple hands-up if anonymising doesn’t matter.
The editable document with guidelines for institutions and students (Word, 24 kB)
- Use the one-minute paper technique to obtain anonymous answers to simple questions. You can use a Padlet or just pieces of paper, and then answer their questions or share their good ideas at the beginning of the next session. Questions could be things like:
- Have you used GenAI tools during your studies? If so, how?
- What would you like to know about GenAI tools in this subject area?
- Do you have a question about GenAI use in this course?
- What’s the most useful thing you have done using GenAI as part of your studies?
- What do you think I should know about GenAI?
- What tip would you give another student about using GenAI in their studies?
Read more about the one minute paper technique on the University of Rochester website – rochester.edu
Read more about the Padlet tool
Conclusion
By supporting transparent and informed discussions about GenAI, we can help students make decisions which support their learning, as well as learning more ourselves.
References
Freeman, Josh. 2024. Provide or Punish? Students' Views on Generative AI in Higher Education. HEPI Policy Note 51. Higher Education Policy Institute.
Loft, Vincent. 2024. GAI-verktyg i LTHs utbildningar. Teknologkåren vid Lunds Tekniska Högskola (TLTH) (Lund).
Malmström, H, C Stöhr, and AW Ou. 2023. Chatbots and other AI for learning: A survey of use and views among university students in Sweden. Chalmers Stud. Commun. Learn. High. Educ 1.
Sveriges Lärare. 2024. Lärarledd digitalisering? - Möjligheter och förbehåll på tröskeln till ett nytt AI-landskap. Sveriges Lärare (Stockholm).
Ungdoms Barometern. 2023. Back2School 2023. Ungdoms Barometern (Stockholm).