Using GAI tools to plan your teaching

Ethan Mollick, in his blog, writes about how he uses GAI tools to help him create case studies and images more quickly. He emphasises the need for human judgement to edit the prompts he gives to the tools, and to check the outputs. Here is an example from my practice. I am working on a project about assessing pedagogical merit in promotion applications and I wanted to generate some fictitious examples of teacher profiles.

Can you create me some imaginary profiles of successful faculty members, each one having a different balance of the following attributes:

1) research experience

2) research funding

3) research outputs

4) teaching experience

5) teaching scholarship and skills

6) teaching evaluations

7) service and external engagement experiences?

To start with, ChatGPT gave me some very stereotypical examples, such as “Research-Driven Scholar” (who hardly does any teaching) and “Teaching specialist” (no research). I then asked it to generate ten profiles with different balances of the attributes. Then I got some lists which were pretty boring to read. So I prompted again

“I would also like them to have names and be referred to using an appropriate pronoun. For example: "Sven has a strong record of research outputs, having published several books and articles in high-impact journals. He has also presented his work at numerous conferences and have secured a few small research grants. His teaching experience is limited, but he has developed a reputation for being an engaging lecturer who can inspire students. He has been involved in a few service and external engagement activities, including consulting for industry organizations."

I then got some more interesting profiles:

Sven Andersen

Field: Art and Music

Description: Sven is a world-renowned artist and musician known for his groundbreaking installations and mesmerizing compositions. His work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums around the globe, and he has received numerous accolades for his contributions to the arts. While Sven's teaching experience is limited, he occasionally conducts masterclasses and workshops to inspire aspiring artists and musicians. He actively engages in service by serving on advisory boards for cultural institutions and collaborating with other artists on interdisciplinary projects.

Emma Mitchell

Field: Museum Specialist

Description: Emma is a highly respected museum specialist with a deep understanding of art history and curation. She has curated numerous successful exhibitions, showcasing her expertise in contextualizing artworks and creating immersive visitor experiences. Emma's research focuses on the intersection of museum practices and audience engagement. She is an engaging educator, regularly leading guided tours and lectures to enhance visitors' understanding of the artworks. Emma actively collaborates with other museums and cultural organizations to promote the exchange of knowledge and resources.

Alejandro Morales

Field: Biomedical Engineering

Description: Dr. Morales is a highly accomplished biomedical engineer whose research focuses on developing advanced medical imaging technologies. They have a strong record of research outputs, with numerous publications in prestigious journals and patents for innovative medical devices. Dr. Morales is also passionate about teaching and has developed specialized courses in biomedical engineering. They are known for their ability to make complex concepts accessible and engaging to students. Dr. Morales actively collaborates with healthcare professionals and industry partners to translate their research into practical applications.

If you are interested, contact me to consult the whole set of profiles I ended up with, which are now used in a game where people compete to ‘appoint’ the best candidate to a particular job, and have to say why their different attributes will contribute to the university’s needs. The main point here is that I was able to generate something interesting to read very quickly. That would have taken me a long time to do, and ChatGPT probably took around 15 minutes, with prompting from me.

As these tools become integrated into commonly used software such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel, you should find it becomes easier and easier to do this kind of thing. PowerPoint already has the ‘design’ feature which finds images and layouts which the software thinks will suit the words you have typed. Excel already has graph creation facilities but they are bound to improve hugely with GAI additions. Word already checks your spelling and grammar, and comments on the quality of your writing if you choose, and it is likely to make suggestions for improvements in a similar way to Grammarly as these tools develop.

Summary: you may find some interesting uses for GAI tools in planning activities for your students, and in replacing work which you may find boring such as checking grammar or creating slides. You will have to decide where you draw the line in using the tools in your work: what is acceptable to you in terms of your authorship? This is likely to change over time – keep reflecting on it.