This post is a modified version of an article that originally appeared on the Cengage EMEA “Unstoppable Minds Blog.”
When generative AI started to make its presence felt in higher education, it soon became clear that educators hold extremely polarized views on the technology. Some are early adopters, ready to encourage students to experiment with different platforms. Others resist AI due to its impact on the environment. But most educators are curious about the benefits of generative AI, and welcome more guidance.
That’s why I set out to develop a framework for AI in teaching and learning to support module organizers who want to incorporate the tools into their teaching.
Critical thinking for a complex world
While generative AI is a good starting point for building knowledge, educators and students soon discover that AI does not do the thinking for you. Instead, it’s a tool that supports and augments the learning process. This is what I call an additional stakeholder in learning. It should not replace learning, but can be used to improve the learning process.
I use our AI framework to help my business management students develop their critical thinking skills, such as analyzing and evaluating, and the lower-order activities such as notetaking and brainstorming. For example, one of our modules gives students the opportunity to work with industry partners to solve sustainability problems. This involves carrying out extensive research, and sifting through lots of literature. Previously students would have relied heavily on Google searches to help them do this.
Now, the emphasis is on using AI tools to streamline research. We introduce students to a whole range of AI-powered specialist research tools, so they can spend more time evaluating sources and less time hunting them down. These tools are also really effective at helping students cite their sources properly. Rather than copying and pasting from a generic AI platform, students have to apply higher order thinking by accessing, using and evaluating original research to use in their assignments.
I think the whole direction of teaching and learning will need to change in the age of AI, because we know students will use it for gathering knowledge. It’s far better to guide students toward using AI to develop their own creative and evidence-based solutions to business problems.
A focus on skills rather than tools
One of the challenges we face is that some students stick to the AI tools they are familiar with, rather than branching out and trying more specialist tools. So, we encourage students to experiment with new platforms, and we try to find ways to make these accessible to students.
With AI developing so rapidly, we’re likely to see new tools emerge, familiar ones evolve, and others fade away. So, what’s important is not teaching how to use specific tools, but guiding students in how to use AI well. This will enable students to dig deeper into the evidence, think critically about the facts, and use their brainpower to address the big challenges.
Written by Dr. Lilian Schofield, Reader in Management Education, Deputy Director of Education (Student Experience) and the Academic Lead at Queen Mary University London.