Explore a fascinating pedagogical study on integrating generative AI into the university classroom. This presentation, part of a seminar series on teaching excellence, details how students were challenged to apply AI tools to a complex, real-world case study.
The core of the experiment involved a high-stakes crisis communication scenario. Students were asked to act as the public relations team for a children's hospital that received a massive $40 million donation for a new diabetes research wing. The crisis? It's discovered the foundation that gave the money is primarily funded by major corporations known for sugary food and beverage products.
Students were tasked with developing a PR strategy using the RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation) model, with the instruction to use generative AI (like Chat GPT) to help them.
Key Takeaways from the Study
This presentation highlights the different outcomes observed between two student groups:
- Group 1: Low AI Familiarity (but High Subject Knowledge) This group (from an introductory PR class) focused on the functional use of the tools. Their discussion centered on how to write effective prompts, how to edit the AI's output, and the technical aspects of making the AI produce what they needed.
- Group 2: High AI Familiarity (but Mixed Subject Knowledge) This group (from a seminar on AI) took a much more critical and strategic approach. Already comfortable with the tools, they spent their time debating the ethics of the scenario, the strategic implications of keeping the money, and how to balance the concerns of different stakeholders.
Recommendations for Educators
The presenter concludes that both experiences were valuable and offers recommendations for using AI in your own classroom, including:
- Assessing student AI knowledge ahead of time to set the right objectives.
- Using case studies to help low-skill users learn the tools in a practical context.
- Using case studies to help high-skill users demonstrate critical thinking and ethical reasoning.
- Crafting a case study (you can even use AI to help create it!) that meets the specific objectives of your course.
The session concludes with a lively Q&A discussion, featuring examples of how these AI applications could be used in other fields like geosciences (e.g., mapping dam locations) and healthcare (e.g., quality improvement initiatives and informatics).