Guidance for teachers in five steps

Step 1: Explore

The first thing you need to do is use a generative AI tool if you haven't already. This will give you an idea of the tools' capabilities. For example, you can try the text-based tool called Bing Copilot, which LU employees and students can use as part of the Microsoft Office 365 subscription. . You can just try asking questions to see what outputs you get. Don’t get frustrated if the outputs are unfocused and wrong, but try making your questions more specific in order to get more detailed outputs. You can also try asking for outputs in different styles, or suitable for different people. Our Canvas course has a lot of examples of activities you can try out.

Open Bing Copilot in your web browser – bing.com/chat

Step 2: Educate yourself

Step two is to educate yourself about the tools in your professional context. Find out what's happening in your subject area nationally and internationally. How are the tools being used there, and what does it mean for research and teaching? Also, find out if there is a policy for GAI tools within your institution or faculty. If you can't find any information about this online, you can contact your program director or associate dean.

Feel free to participate in any of the webinars on generative AI that you can find in the Calendar and to look at the different modules in the Canvas course Generative AI-tools in education at LU. 

The Canvas course Generative AI-tools in education at LU (in English) 

Step 3: Review learning objectives

After exploring and learning about the tools, you may need to review the students' learning objectives in your course or program. For example, if it's essential for your students to develop writing skills, it may be necessary to clarify how GAI tools can be used and possibly prohibit them in examination. On the other hand, if it's crucial for your students to learn how to use GAI tools because they will be essential in your field, it may need to be included in the learning objectives.

You may have departmental guidelines, but if not, use the editable template below to design guidelines for GAI tool usage in your courses or programs.

The editable sample guidelines for departments and students (Word, 24 kB)

If you need support from other teachers, there is also a forum for sharing experiences on Teams.

Teams channel GAI Tools and Teaching at LU – teams.microsoft.com

Step 4: Inform your students

Once you have reviewed learning objectives and made decisions about the use of GAI tools in teaching, you must inform your students. Be clear about whether and, if so, how students can use GAI tools in their work, and specify which tools are approved for use. It is also important to inform students about the consequences of unauthorized use of GAI tools:

• Getting feedback on something you didn't produce yourself is not developmental and takes time from staff and peers.
• Improving texts with GAI can hinder the development of one's own writing competence.
• Misleading or cheating with the help of GAI can lead to warnings or suspensions.

Feel free to advise your students to read the text below.

Four things all students should know about generative AI-tools – campusonline.lu.se

Step 5: Test and Evaluate

With new teaching techniques, it is wise to first test on a small scale and then evaluate. For a semester, for example, you might forbid GAI tools in examinations but try using them in the classroom for specific tasks. Then, evaluate with your students and colleagues, and consider whether you want to use the tools more extensively in the future.

If you want examples of how GAI tools can be used in teaching, you can check out one of the following pages.

Generative AI for Improved Learning (in Swedish) – parnes.com/blog

Positive uses for ChatGPT in the higher education classroom – clear.unt.edu