Why I Stopped Fighting AI in My Classroom and Started Teaching With It
Students can grow their expertise by using AI as a super tutor, writes Jason Corso.
In a recent academic gathering, students confidently claimed they only used AI to verify their work, despite reports suggesting most peers relied on it extensively. As an engineering professor at the University of Michigan, I believe the future will not be dominated by autonomous AI, but by experts who can leverage it to multiply their output.
However, how do we cultivate experts when students aren't attending classes? The pandemic has seen a sharp decline in lecture attendance, yet active learning has proven crucial for increasing participation and long-term retention. By adopting this approach, I have noticed a surge in attendance, even during Michigan's winters. The traditional lecture format, consisting of hours of note-taking and technical problem sets, often fails to engage students and disconnects the material from real-world applications.
To address this, I have flipped my classroom, assigning 2-hour recorded video lectures and related articles, which they engage with through Perusall, an AI-powered tool that tracks active participation. With most class time focused on live lectures and in-person interactions, students feel the value lies in the live exchange rather than the information provided.
As we consider AI's role in education, we must avoid viewing it as a mere labor-saving device for the mind. Instead, AI should be seen as an expertise-amplifier that can transform weeks of manual work into hours of focused work. Rather than discouraging its use, I employ AI as a sophisticated tutor that enhances active learning and helps students develop their expertise.
By incorporating mastery-first workflows, AI-generated problem sets, and a brain dump standard, I encourage students to develop their skills through trial, error, and refinement. Finally, redefining the honor code in the age of AI means setting boundaries while allowing students to choose how they demonstrate their work, treating AI as any other essential tool of modern life.
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
