Generative AI Syllabus Statements and Assignment Ideas

Syllabus Statements

It is important to let your students know if, when, and how they can use generative AI at the outset of your classes by putting relevant language in your syllabi. Here are a few possibilities for syllabus policies from the Office of Student Conduct :

• Option 1 (Free Use): "In this course, you will be permitted to use Generative AI tools to assist you in completing your coursework. You are not required to cite these sources. Please let me know if you have any questions on how to best use these tools to aid in your learning."

• Option 2 (Use with Acknowledgement): In this course, you will be permitted to use Generative AI tools. However, any coursework created with the assistance of Generative AI must include quotation marks as appropriate and proper citations, using the accepted citation style for this course.

• Option 3 (Limited Use Permitted): All submitted coursework must be your own original work. Appropriate use of quotation marks and citations, using the accepted citation style for this course, is required per the UTC Honor Code. While the use and/or inclusion of any materials derived by a Generative AI tool is generally prohibited, you may be given written permission to use such a tool for one or more assignments. Any coursework for which the use of Generative AI is allowed will include explicit directions on when and how to use such tools, as well as how to properly cite the resource. Failure to follow any of the aforementioned guidelines constitutes a violation of the Honor Code and will result in a referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

• Option 4 (Use Prohibited):  All submitted coursework must be your own original work. Inclusion of proper citations, using the accepted citation style for this course, is required per the UTC Honor Code. The use and/or inclusion of any materials derived by a Generative AI tool is strictly prohibited. Failure to follow any of the aforementioned guidelines constitutes a violation of the Honor Code and will result in a referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

If you would like more ideas, this is long a crowdsourced Google document of Sample Syllabus Policies.

Assignment Ideas

When developing assignments, consider the range of genres you can incorporate into your class to assess student learning. Ask yourself which of the following assignments will best assess learning in your course, according to your learning objectives. These assignments represent a variety of genres of communication and modes of instruction, including:  

• Oral exams or in-class writing assignments. 

• Reflections on experiential learning opportunities. 

• A podcast-style recording about research students have conducted, processes they’ve developed, experiences they’ve had, what they’ve read, etc.  

• A video demonstrating how a problem or series of problems was solved. 

• A specific genre of writing—for example, a grant proposal, a blog post, a policy memo, a white paper, a letter to the editor, and research papers.

• Other multimodal assignments such as research posters, infographics, or presentations. 

Many of the established best practices in sound writing instruction apply to assignments that ask students to communicate their thinking. These practices include: 

• Providing students the opportunity to explore a variety of genres and understand the social, textual, and visual conventions of these genres.  

• Emphasizing the writing and composing process as iterative and complex by providing opportunities for students to brainstorm, draft, revise, and edit.  

• Giving students the opportunity to understand the rhetorical and social nature of writing and communication, through engaging with real audiences.  

• Incorporating opportunities for reflection and fostering the metacognitive awareness important to their growth as writers and communicators.  

• Offering opportunities for students to explore writing and communication styles and conventions in their discipline.  

Scaffolding your assignments will not only provide the student more feedback throughout the research and writing process, but it will also give you a sense of their writing voice and capabilities before receiving a final draft. These stages may include: 

• Submitting a research question and/or research proposal. 

• Producing a bibliography or annotated bibliography. 

• Developing an outline including argument/thesis statement. 

• Submitting pieces of the assignment (literature review, analysis of findings, etc.). 

• Submitting a work in drafts (rough draft, peer reviewed draft, final draft, etc.). 

• Submitting reflections about the student’s composing or thinking process, including the rhetorical choices they made for their project and why they made them. 

Google Docs will show the history of the document’s development. You could ask your student to write and submit their work using Google Docs from start to finish so you could check the history of the document if you suspect use of an AI text generator. (This will require a clear understanding on your part of how the document history function works and some grace for yourself for a semester or two as you figure it out.) ​​​​​​

Here is a link to an open-access crowdsourced collection that offers many ideas for AI-informed teaching: 101 Creative Ways to Use AI in Education.