AI – Center for Teaching and Learning /ctl Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:48:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /ctl/wp-content/uploads/sites/88/2024/01/cropped-android-chrome-512x512-1-32x32.png AI – Center for Teaching and Learning /ctl 32 32 Student AI Bill of Rights /ctl/student-ai-bill-of-rights/ Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:47:59 +0000 /ctl/?p=5844 The National Student Legal Defense Network recently released a Student AI Bill of Rights, a document outlining considerations for higher education as generative AI becomes more prolific in learning and the workplace.

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The National Student Legal Defense Network recently released a Student AI Bill of Rights, a document outlining considerations for higher education as generative AI becomes more prolific in learning and the workplace.

It includes 5 articles:

  1. The Right to Transparency and “”Notice””
  2. The Right to Human Oversight and Appeal
  3. The Right to Data Sovereignty and Intellectual Property
  4. The Right of all Students to Safely Use AI
  5. The Right to Share in AI and its Benefits

If you have been wondering about student voice in the AI in Education conversation, this document is a great place to start thinking about student perspectives. What do you think a Faculty AI Bill of Rights would look like?

Check out the .

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AI Prompt Library /ctl/ai-prompt-library/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:53:17 +0000 /ctl/?p=5800 From faculty member Ethan Mollick at the Wharton School of Business, here is a collection of prompts you can use with an AI chatbot to help you and your learners get better results. Prompts are grouped into three main categories:

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From faculty member Ethan Mollick at the Wharton School of Business, here is a collection of prompts you can use with an AI chatbot to help you and your learners get better results. Prompts are grouped into three main categories:

  1. Instructor aids (e.g., lesson planning, teaching support)
  2. Student exercises (activities that guide learning or reflection)
  3. Other prompts (general-purpose uses)

The goal is to help users get better, more structured outputs from AI by using well-designed prompt templates. All prompts are openly licensed (Creative Commons), meaning they can be reused and adapted with attribution.

Check it out here: 

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Make America AI-Ready /ctl/make-america-ai-ready/ Wed, 25 Mar 2026 20:16:57 +0000 /ctl/?p=5652 Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of “Make America AI-Ready,” a free artificial intelligence literacy course that will help American workers learn the basics of AI simply by texting “READY” to 20202.

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Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of “Make America AI-Ready,” a free artificial intelligence literacy course that will help American workers learn the basics of AI simply by texting “READY” to 20202.

The course is uniquely designed to deliver bite-sized learning content and daily challenges to users entirely over text message. Users can complete the course in seven days by engaging for just 10 minutes a day. The text message-based design is intended to be as accessible as possible to all Americans, including those without a laptop or with limited access to the internet.

The course engages participants with daily content that directly aligns with the five foundational areas outlined in the Labor Department’s recently-released .

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Did a Robot Write this Report? Managing AI Cheating /ctl/did-a-robot-write-this-report-managing-ai-cheating/ Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:23:01 +0000 /ctl/?p=5591 Generative AI is a powerful tool that can be used to support teachers and students. Unfortunately, just as AI can be used to generate lesson plans, provide helpful feedback, and serve as a personalized tutor, it can also be used to write a paper, provide answers, and do students' work.

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Generative AI is a powerful tool that can be used to support teachers and students. Unfortunately, just as AI can be used to generate lesson plans, provide helpful feedback, and serve as a personalized tutor, it can also be used to write a paper, provide answers, and do students’ work.

But how can we manage this? Over the last several years, Educational Technologist Eric Curtis has been having this academic integrity discussion with thousands of educators around the world. He has assembled feedback and resources in a 1-hour webinar with support materials.

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AI Use Cases in Higher Education: A Community Handbook /ctl/ai-use-cases-in-higher-education-a-community-handbook/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 22:18:32 +0000 /ctl/?p=5562 The AI Use Cases in Higher Education Handbook is a comprehensive, downloadable Excel workbook cataloging 75+ real-world and proposed applications of AI across 12 functional areas in higher education.

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The AI Use Cases in Higher Education Handbook is a comprehensive, downloadable Excel workbook cataloging 75+ real-world and proposed applications of AI across 12 functional areas in higher education.

The handbook covers use cases spanning teaching and instruction, student support services, assessment, research, accessibility, governance, workforce development, and more. Each entry includes the institution involved, the AI tools used, a description, and a direct link to the primary source. It draws on validated case studies from institutions like ASU, Purdue, Georgia State, Northeastern, the University of Michigan, and dozens of others, as well as findings from my Forbes Higher Education coverage.

As institutions navigate AI adoption, there’s no single place to see what’s actually being tried, what’s working, and where the gaps are. This resource is meant to fill that need — not as a static document, but as a living, growing repository shaped by the community. Consider sharing your own use cases!

Access the .

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Highly-Cited “AI Erodes Critical Thinking” Study Appears To Be AI Generated Slop /ctl/highly-cited-ai-erodes-critical-thinking-study-appears-to-be-ai-generated-slop/ Wed, 25 Feb 2026 22:10:54 +0000 /ctl/?p=5521 This week, I want to highlight a substack post critiquing a recent research article. The author critically examines a widely referenced paper claiming that increased AI use degrades critical thinking skills. Pookins argues that the study’s design and methodology are fundamentally flawed: the sample isn’t representative, the survey measures self-reported beliefs rather than actual critical thinking performance, and many items intended to measure different constructs are essentially redundant. Because of these flaws, he asserts that the paper does not provide reliable evidence that AI use causes a decline in critical thinking, meaning that its frequent citation in media and academic discussions may be misleading or premature. Moreover, he points to evidence that the paper itself may have been AI-generated.

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This week, I want to highlight a substack post critiquing a recent research article. The author critically examines a widely referenced paper claiming that increased AI use degrades critical thinking skills. Pookins argues that the study’s design and methodology are fundamentally flawed: the sample isn’t representative, the survey measures self-reported beliefs rather than actual critical thinking performance, and many items intended to measure different constructs are essentially redundant. Because of these flaws, he asserts that the paper does not provide reliable evidence that AI use causes a decline in critical thinking, meaning that its frequent citation in media and academic discussions may be misleading or premature. Moreover, he points to evidence that the paper itself may have been AI-generated.

Why is this such an important post to read? The key issue isn’t whether AI might affect cognition. That is a broader and ongoing research question supported by diverse studies on cognitive offloading and educational impacts. Instead, how we interpret and communicate evidence is what is critical here. The post highlights the importance of scrutinizing research methodology before adopting headlines about AI’s harms or benefits. In teaching and policy conversations, this means encouraging nuanced engagement with research on AI and critical thinking, distinguishing between correlation and causation, and integrating AI in ways that support, rather than inadvertently replace, deep learning and reasoning.

If you have found a quality research article on the impact of AI on learning, please share it with us by emailing it to umpi-ctl@maine.edu.

Read the full post here:

Pookins, N. (2026, February 15). Highly-Cited “AI Erodes Critical Thinking” study appears to be AI generated slop. Nebu’s Newsletter. Substack. 

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AI Pedagogy Project /ctl/ai-pedagogy-project/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:47:50 +0000 /ctl/?p=5066 The AI Pedagogy Project is a free, open-access resource developed by metaLAB (at) Harvard that helps educators understand and engage with generative AI — particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT — in a thoughtful, critical, and pedagogically informed way. Its “AI Guide” walks users step-by-step through what generative AI is, how LLMs work, and what their strengths and limitations are; it then offers a hands-on “LLM Tutorial,” letting faculty experiment with AI tools directly, and a comparison module for evaluating different models side-by-side.

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The AI Pedagogy Project is a free, open-access resource developed by metaLAB (at) Harvard that helps educators understand and engage with generative AI — particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT — in a thoughtful, critical, and pedagogically informed way. Its “AI Guide” walks users step-by-step through what generative AI is, how LLMs work, and what their strengths and limitations are; it then offers a hands-on “LLM Tutorial,” letting faculty experiment with AI tools directly, and a comparison module for evaluating different models side-by-side. The site also includes a library of curated additional resources — from sample AI classroom policies to readings about AI ethics, bias, academic integrity, and more — so that educators can build a foundational understanding of AI before introducing it to students.

Beyond background and experimentation, the AI Pedagogy Project supplies a growing repository of ready-to-use, educator-designed assignments and activities that integrate AI tools in classroom contexts. For example, one assignment — “A Tale of Two Critiques” — asks students to compare a human-written critique of a text with a critique generated by an AI model, fostering critical reading and reflection. Another, “AI Image Remixing,” invites students to experiment with AI-based image generation or remix tools, prompting discussion around creativity, authorship, and the limits of machine-generated media. These assignments can be adapted to different disciplines, class levels, and learning goals — offering an accessible way for faculty to incorporate AI into their teaching without needing deep technical background.

Check it out here: 

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Does ChatGPT enhance student learning? A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies /ctl/does-chatgpt-enhance-student-learning-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-of-experimental-studies/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:46:23 +0000 /ctl/?p=5058 This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental research on ChatGPT’s impact on student learning (69 studies from 2022–2024). The goal was to move beyond simple correlations and look at causal effects of ChatGPT use in education settings.

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This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental research on ChatGPT’s impact on student learning (69 studies from 2022–2024). The goal was to move beyond simple correlations and look at causal effects of ChatGPT use in education settings.

The review found positive associations between ChatGPT use and several student outcomes:

  • Improved academic performance compared with control conditions.
  • Boosts in affective-motivational states, meaning students felt more motivated or positive about learning tasks.
  • Increases in higher-order thinking propensities, suggesting students may engage more with critical thinking when ChatGPT is used thoughtfully.
  • Reduced mental effort reported by learners in some contexts.

Interestingly, the review did not find that ChatGPT use changed students’ self-efficacy (their confidence in their own learning ability). This suggests that while tools can help performance, they don’t automatically make students feel more capable. The article doesn’t just stop at findings — it critiques the quality of current research and offers propositions for future work.

The review suggests that ChatGPT used as part of regular classroom practice — not just as an add-on — shows the strongest effects. This article provides evidence that ChatGPT should be integrated in ways that promote higher-order thinking, e.g., through scaffolding questions, collaborative prompts, or guided inquiry.

Read the full article here:

Deng, R., Jiang, M., Yu, X., Lu, Y., & Liu, S. (2025). Does ChatGPT enhance student learning? A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies. Computers & Education, 227, 105224. 

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AI-Supported Civil Discourse /ctl/ai-supported-civil-discourse/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:53:38 +0000 /ctl/?p=5096 Sway is a chat platform that connects students with differing perspectives into one-on-one conversations and facilitates better discussions between them. Developed with Heterodox Academy and inspired by John Stuart Mill's radical view that engaging with opposing perspectives is an essential tool for improving reasoning and solving complex problems, Sway aims to create online spaces where we can all learn to discuss controversial issues more openly and constructively.

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Sway is a chat platform that connects students with differing perspectives into one-on-one conversations and facilitates better discussions between them. Developed with Heterodox Academy and inspired by John Stuart Mill’s radical view that engaging with opposing perspectives is an essential tool for improving reasoning and solving complex problems, Sway aims to create online spaces where we can all learn to discuss controversial issues more openly and constructively.

Create a free account to try it out. When participants enter a question or response for their chat partner on a challenging topic, Sway will evaluate the message for inflammatory or unproductive content and provide a suggested way to rephrase their post. The Sway Guide will also interject comments and prompts throughout the discussion as a facilitator and provide factual information to learners related to the content when asked.

To see it in action and hear from the developers, register for the February 19 Beyond Bots session listed in the events below.

Check it out here: 

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Guide your students on the use of AI for learning /ctl/guide-your-students-on-the-use-of-ai-for-learning/ Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:31:35 +0000 /ctl/?p=5188 While there are mixed feelings about generative AI among faculty and students, it's undeniable that AI is not going away and will continue to become embedded in all aspects of life. Even if students choose not to use it, they still need to understand how it works and ethical implications of its use. Who is going to teach them this?

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While there are mixed feelings about generative AI among faculty and students, it’s undeniable that AI is not going away and will continue to become embedded in all aspects of life. Even if students choose not to use it, they still need to understand how it works and ethical implications of its use. Who is going to teach them this?

You may have noted in your AI policy in your syllabus that students may not use AI for assessments, but what about during the learning process? Many aspects of effective learning are counterintuitive: productive struggle leads to better learning, re-reading and highlighting do not improve memory, we don’t always prefer the most effective learning techniques, etc.

We can’t assume that students will intuitively understand the most effective ways to use AI for learning, so it’s up to us to provide this guidance for them. Consider providing some suggestions to learners about how they might use AI to help them understand a reading assignment, quiz themselves to prepare for an assessment, or explore difficult concepts with personally relevant examples. You can find more ideas here: .

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