Recap
Assessing AI Readiness: How Prepared Are Faculty?
Brett Christie, Ph.D.
VP, Educational Innovation & Inclusivity
As we enter a new academic year, the intersection of AI and assessments looms large. The role of AI in education is no longer a futuristic concept but a pressing reality with which educators must grapple. On August 14, myself and Heather Brown, Ph.D., Instructional Designer at Tidewater Community College and Moderator of the EDUCAUSE AI Community, had the privilege of co-facilitating a webinar titled “Navigating AI and Assessments: Strategies for the New Academic Year.” This session aimed to address the evolving presence of AI in academic assignments and assessments, offering practical strategies to seamlessly integrate AI into coursework while maintaining academic integrity.
The turnout for this webinar was significant, with 1,006 registrants and 511 participants joining us live. This level of engagement underscores the urgency of the topic. To kick off the session, we conducted a survey to gauge how prepared attendees felt instructors are for navigating AI in assessments for the upcoming Fall 2024 term. With 349 responses, the results were telling.
Survey Results: Instructor Preparedness for AI in Assessments
The survey revealed a stark reality: nearly ⅔ of respondents expressed concerns about the readiness of instructors to effectively manage AI’s role in academic assessments. The attached graph of the survey responses illustrates this sentiment, with many participants indicating that instructors are largely unprepared for the challenges that AI integration poses.
This lack of preparedness highlights a critical gap in current educational practices and resources. As AI continues to evolve, so too must our strategies for incorporating it into the academic framework. The need for informed, practical approaches to guide AI use in assessments is more crucial than ever. In a recent survey, 62% of employers stated that our graduates should have foundational knowledge of GenAI, with 58% stating they were more likely to interview those with AI experience.
The AI Assessment Scale: A Framework for Guiding AI Use
To address these concerns, our webinar was structured around the AI Assessment Scale, as developed by Perkins et al. (2023). This scale provides a framework for determining the appropriate level of AI use in student assessments, offering five distinct levels that range from no AI use to AI fully integrated in the student assessment experience.
During the webinar, we provided discipline-specific examples that illustrated how to apply each level of the AI Assessment Scale across various assignment types. These examples were designed to be practical and adaptable, offering instructors clear pathways to integrate AI in a manner that aligns with their course objectives and assessment goals.
A Resource for the Future: Guiding AI Use in Student Assignments
In conjunction with the webinar, participants were granted access to our online resource, “Guiding AI Use in Student Assignments: Practical Examples & Strategies.” This compendium offers a wealth of examples and strategies to help educators navigate the complexities of AI integration. Moving forward, we will be featuring this resource in a series of weekly blog posts, each focusing on a different level of the AI Assessment Scale. These posts will provide a deeper exploration of the nuances at each level of AI use, offering readers actionable insights and examples they can implement in their own courses.
Looking Ahead
The conversation around AI and assessments is just beginning, and it is clear that educators must be proactive in adapting their strategies to meet the demands of this new landscape – on campus and beyond. Our goal is to support instructors through this transition, providing them with the tools and knowledge they need to foster a transparent, trust-based learning environment where AI is used to enhance, rather than undermine, academic integrity.
Stay tuned for our upcoming blog series, where we will continue to explore the AI Assessment Scale and offer further guidance on integrating AI into your academic practices.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the discussions, the full webinar is available here.
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