When: Tuesday, January 16 at 2 PM

Where: 109B Halle and Zoom

Facilitators: Christine Clark and Raed Jarrah

Description: Lots of us have been wondering how the emergence of generative AI tools will affect our teaching going forward.  A first step in thinking through this question is trying out a generative AI program, such as ChatGPT. What can it do? What can it not do? How can you work with it to enhance what you do in the classroom? Professors Raed El-Jarrah and Christine Clark hosted a hands-on session to help you explore generative AI and reach your own conclusions about its affordances and constraints.  (Note: this is a repeat of a program we offered in December.)

Click Here to View the Zoom Recording

Christine Clark is currently Interim Department Head of the Geography and Geology Department at Eastern as well as Professor of Mineralogy, Petrology, Geoscience Education Research, and Tectonics. Her interest in Geoscience Education brought her to thinking about AI as an instructional tool.

Raed Jarrah is an assistant professor in the Construction Management and Civil Engineering  programs. He is looking for new ways to leverage AI in the classroom and the field.

When: Tuesday, February 6th at 11 AM

Where: 109B Halle and Zoom

Facilitator: Rania Spantidi

Description: This session demystified the technology behind generative AI, particularly models like ChatGPT. By breaking down the complex workings of these models into understandable concepts, the facilitator tried to dispel the myth of them being inscrutable 'black boxes.' The talk also included practical demonstrations and examples of the incorporation of this technology in classroom preparations and research, providing a clear, real-world context for its applications.

Rania Spantidi received her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Southern Illinois University in May 2023 and joined Eastern Michigan University in Fall 2023 as an Assistant Professor in Computer Science. Her focus lies in AI, embedded systems, and human-computer interaction. Her recent work involves using GPT for creating VR-ready scenes. Teaching both graduate and introductory courses, she is passionate about bridging the gap between complex technology and practical application.

When: Wednesday, February 14 at 12:30 PM

Where: 109B Halle and Zoom

Facilitators: Daniel Seely

Description: This session started with an examination of language from the point of view of the linguist, comparing and contrasting the biological nature of language (language as a component of human cognition) and the socio-cultural nature of language (language as a cultural object). We did this in order to better understand how ChatGPT (and other such systems) is different from humans in its language processing mechanisms.

We then explored how AI might help with analytic work (using linguistics as the model). We know that it is pretty good with straight facts; and it is pretty good with writing and coming up with brainstorming ideas. But, how is it with different kinds of actual analysis? For instance, can it be given sets of data, find patterns in that data, and propose a possible analysis (a reasonable theory) of it (using the tools available in whatever the field is)? Overall, we considered the nature of human language vs ChatGPT, and then considered what GPT might (and might not) be good for with respect to not just writing, but actual analysis of data.

T. Daniel Seely is a theoretical linguist with primary interest in language as a cognitive faculty of the human mind. His specialties are in syntax, with additional interest in semantics and psycholinguistics. Two collections of his papers with long-time collaborators Hisa Kitahara and the late Samuel Epstein appear in the Routledge Leading Linguists Series. His more recent  publication is Merge and Strong Minimalist Thesis, Cambridge, coauthored with Noam Chomsky, Robert Berwick, Sandiway Fong, M. A. C. Huybregts, Hisatsugu Kitahara, Andrew McInnerney and Yushi Sugimoto.

When: Tuesday, March 12 at 11 AM

Where: 109B Halle and Zoom

Facilitators: Raed Jarrah and Monse Pastrano Romero

Description: In this session, we discussed how students can properly and responsibly use AI (students can be trusted to use a “dangerous” tool if guided and encouraged). The talk outlined policy on AI use, how assignments work around AI, and offered some examples of how students do not use it properly. Monse Pastrano Romero, a graduate student, talked about her experience using AI and demonstrated her process for writing her assignments.

Raed Jarrah is an assistant professor in the Construction Management and Civil Engineering programs. He is looking for new ways to leverage AI in the classroom and the field. 

Monse Pastrano Romero has several years of experience working as an architect. She joined EMU's Construction Management graduate program thinking that pursuing a master's degree in a foreign country with a second language would be a tough challenge. She recently taught herself to utilize AI to succeed in her career and enhance her existing skills.

For the fall 2023 semester, WAC offered a few opportunities for engaging in conversations around topics that we believe will be meaningful to many of you. 

One of these opportunities was  convening a small group to have conversations about generative AI, particularly in relation to teaching and assigning writing. This was a WAC think tank of sorts -- and an opportunity for those interested in the topic to come together, read and discuss some things, etc.

Our world of higher education was recently rocked by the emergence of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot capable of producing serviceable and, in some cases, quite good papers in response to prompts. This raises questions about the implications this technology may have on how we teach and assign writing. If students are able to take our paper prompts, feed them into this software, and get papers indistinguishable from actual student work, this clearly presents us with challenges and calls for us to rethink elements of how we teach, and how we design our assignments.

Ann Blakeslee and Beth Sabo from the Writing Across the Curriculum program and the University Writing Center and Jeff Bernstein from the Faculty Development Center hosted two ChatGPT sessions during the summer of 2023. These sessions took place before the fall 2023 semester begins and offered instructors resources to take with them into the start of the year, including syllabus statements, classroom policies, and assignments. 

View the PowerPoint from these sessions.

Our world of higher education was recently impacted by the emergence of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot capable of producing serviceable and, in some cases, quite good papers in response to prompts.  For example, if, as the FDC Director did, one were to type into ChatGPT "Write a love letter to my wife, Lisa," ChatGPT can produce a very serviceable love letter that almost fooled the aforementioned Lisa.  (Note: this was done for experimental purposes. Trying this at home may have unintended consequences!)

On a more serious note, though, this raises questions about the implications this technology may have on how we teach and assign writing.  If students are able to take our paper prompts, feed them into this software, and get papers indistinguishable from actual student work, this clearly presents us with challenges and may call for us to rethink elements of how we teach.

Read the blog post from Michael McVey about ChatGPT.

Much discussion has ensued about ChatGPT as evidenced by a recent New York Times story, and many other stories about this in Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and other such publications, including the blog post linked above.  But how much does or will this change our teaching landscape?  How should we approach and think about the assignments we give?  Put another way, to what extent do the good teaching practices we've all strived to put into effect address the capabilities of and challenges ChatGPT presents? 

Ann Blakeslee from the Writing Across the Curriculum program and the Writing Center and Jeff Bernstein from the Faculty Development Center hosted an informal discussion on Monday, January 30, 2023, about what ChatGPT is, what it does, and how it can, might, and should affect our teaching practices–and our thinking about teaching. Please join Ann and Jeff as they continue the conversation with another ChatGPT event, "More Good Chat about ChatGPT."

More Good Chat About ChatGPT

ChatGPT continues to attract a great deal of attention in the world of higher education. Ann Blakeslee and Jeff Bernstein in this conversation, discussed how we can use ChatGPT in our classes and how it can lead us to revisit principles of good practice in creating assignments for our students. Ann and Jeff helped frame the issues, and heard from all of YOU on how we can all adapt pedagogically to this new development.