Expertise, Content, and Outcomes
The first dimension of the Effective Teaching Framework is Expertise, Content, and Outcomes. This dimension refers to the rigor and relevance of an instructor’s expertise and of the course content or the learning experience.
This dimension can be described by two indicators:
- Content and Outcomes: This dimension describes the rigor of content, knowledge, skills, and attitudes set out for students and the relevance of these intended outcomes to students.
- Instructor Expertise: This dimension addresses a facilitator’s expertise including the breadth and depth of their knowledge in both their discipline and those pedagogical principles relevant to their subject matter.
Pedagogical considerations for AI use in this dimension might include:
- AI tools and their fit with your course Learning Outcomes: Does the use of Generative AI tools align well with your course learning outcomes? If not, consider whether you need to rewrite your course outcomes to clearly capture how you plan to integrate the use of these tools (for your students). Remember, outcomes must be assessable.
- Expertise: Generative AI tools, when used ethically and conscientiously, will require the instructor’s disciplinary expertise to assess and judge the relevance, reliability, and validity of the AI’s generated output.
- Thinking Critically about AI: Instructors who want to foster critical thinking and AI (digital) literacy skills in alignment with their identified course learning outcomes can design learning experiences that encourage students to examine the similarities as well as the differences between AI predictions and human-lived experiences.
- Data Security, Privacy, and Assessments: Instructors and students need to understand the privacy and data security implications as well contemplate alternative assessments, so those who wish to opt out of using AI tools may be supported in doing so. See Important Considerations: Data Security, Privacy, and Alternative Assessments.
To learn more on how to avoid AI tool use, see relevant sections Dialogue with Students and Statements of Expectations for AI-Use
- Determine if Generative AI tools align with the learning outcomes of your course. If they do not, make sure this is explicitly stated and provide a rationale for your decision. Ensure any outcome-aligned assessment descriptions also make this expectation clear.
- Develop outcomes that stress the skills students need to learn and demonstrate within a course or assignment.
- Build confidence in oral presentation skills by delivering prepared and impromptu speeches and by engaging in impromptu discussions and critiques.
- Develop outcomes that focus on the student-centered processes involved in developing an assignment.
- Build time/work management skills by developing a month-long schedule for your major project that moves you and students through brainstorming, topic selection or proposal, outlining and crafting a tentative thesis, drafting, peer editing, final drafting, proofreading, reflection, and self-assessment (of time/work management skills).
- Develop outcomes that encourage personal, professional, academic, and/or critical, creative, and affective reflection.
- Reflect on the assigned reading(s) in a manner that merges critical engagement (referring to particular moments in the readings via citation) with personal reflection (sharing thoughts and experiences as prompted by the readings).
- Reflect on your field experience by relating the biases (if any) you brought into the field, how you managed those biases to deliver fair and equitable treatment, and how you will (in the future) ensure you function in manners that mitigate and work to foreclose on bias.
- Reflect on the in-class critiques in an evaluative manner by assessing the arguments and explaining how you judge their strengths.
- Reflect critically on the message delivered by the assigned video by incorporating elements from the course readings and in-class discussions.
Using AI: Long Samples, Quick Prompts, and Other Suggestions
LONG SAMPLES
AIM: Use Generative AI to help develop learning outcomes: Ask Generative AI to generate measurable learning outcomes based on course goals; the instructor evaluates and adjusts the generated outcomes to ensure the outcomes are measurable.
SUMMARY: I need to brainstorm learning outcomes, but I have trouble finding the right verbs, so I decided to collaborate with ChatGPT. I could input the following prompt into ChatGPT: “I want students to understand [indicate a course goal or a course topic], so write measurable learning outcomes that begin with verbs.”
COURSE CONTEXT: This can be used for any course to help generate learning outcomes. U of A degree programs have program-level outcomes, and those parameters impact course-level and assignment-level outcomes, all of which should align powerfully together in the teaching and learning experience.
EXAMPLE: A course on the Harlem Renaissance
-
Prompt: I want students to understand the Harlem Renaissance, so can you write some measurable learning outcomes that begin with verbs?
-
ChatGPT Output: Sure! Here are some examples of measurable learning outcomes for students to understand the Harlem Renaissance:
- Analyze the historical context and artistic characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance by identifying at least three key figures and their contributions.
- Compare and contrast the themes and styles of at least two literary works from the Harlem Renaissance, using textual evidence to support their analysis.
- Evaluate the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on American society and culture by explaining at least two ways in which it influenced subsequent artistic and social movements.
- Create a multimedia presentation that showcases the major artistic and cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance, incorporating at least three different forms of media (e.g., images, audio, video).
- Synthesize their knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance by developing and defending an original argument about its significance in shaping the cultural landscape of America in the 20th century.
- Explain the significance of at least three key themes or motifs that emerged in the literature and art of the Harlem Renaissance, and demonstrate their understanding by applying these concepts to analyze a contemporary work of art or literature.
- Apply critical thinking skills to analyze primary source documents from the Harlem Renaissance, such as letters, essays, or speeches, and draw conclusions about the perspectives and experiences of African American artists during this period.
- Develop a research question related to the Harlem Renaissance, and conduct an independent research project that explores this question in depth, using at least three primary and/or secondary sources to support their argument.
- Assess the diversity of perspectives and experiences within the Harlem Renaissance by identifying and analyzing the work of at least two artists or writers who represented different cultural, racial, or gender identities.
- Reflect on their own learning process and growth by writing a personal statement that describes how their understanding of the Harlem Renaissance has changed and expanded over the course of the unit, and identifies at least two specific areas where they still have room for further learning and growth.
INSTRUCTOR TAKE-AWAYS: As you can see, ChatGPT provided several learning outcomes. Well-designed outcomes can align with assignment topics and evaluation parameters. Notice that these options can be used as assignment topics and anticipate evaluation possibilities. With such output, instructors may be inspired to approach their course, topics, assignments, and evaluations in diverse ways.
Importantly, instructors need to critically assess these outcomes to determine their suitability and then refine accordingly. Based on their needs and purposes, instructors can reject, adopt, or adapt any of these suggestions. For instance, in this case, ten outcomes may be too many. Hence, the instructor needs to select and/or trim and refine - and maybe save some to develop in future iterations of the course and course projects. The instructor can also nest certain outcomes with other outcomes. For instance, you can nest option 8 under any of the other outcomes. Alternatively, the instructor can merge outcomes and simplify. For instance, outcomes 5 and 6 are similar, so the instructor can rephrase these two to make a briefer learning outcome.
AIM: Use Generative AI to help build a draft of a lesson plan. The instructor evaluates and adjusts the draft lesson plan as necessary.
SUMMARY: I need to teach a basic introduction to Statistics 101 but have trouble getting started, so I want to use ChatGPT to kickstart things. I could input the following prompt into ChatGPT: “Build a lesson plan for [type of class] for [Course].”
COURSE CONTEXT: This can be used for any course to help brainstorm and draft a lesson plan that the instructor can edit, enhance, and alter as required.
EXAMPLE: Statistics 101
-
Prompt: Build a lesson plan for [an introductory lecture] for [Statistics 101].
-
ChatGPT Output: Sure, here is a lesson plan for an introductory lecture for Statistics 101:
- Introduction
- Welcome students and introduce yourself
- Explain what statistics is and why it is important
- Talk about how statistics is used in different fields such as business, healthcare, sports, and social sciences.
- Descriptive Statistics
- Define descriptive statistics
- Discuss measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode)
- Talk about measures of dispersion (range, variance, standard deviation)
- Provide examples of how to calculate these measures and explain what they mean.
- Inferential Statistics
- Define inferential statistics
- Explain the difference between population and sample
- Talk about probability distributions (normal, binomial, and Poisson)
- Introduce hypothesis testing and significance levels.
- Applications of Statistics
- Provide examples of how statistics is used in different fields such as medicine, psychology, economics, and politics.
- Discuss the importance of understanding statistics in today's data-driven world.
- Explain how statistics can be used to make better decisions and solve real-world problems.
- Conclusion
- Summarize the main points covered in the lecture
- Encourage students to ask questions and participate in class discussions
- Provide a brief overview of what will be covered in the next lecture.
- Introduction
INSTRUCTOR TAKE-AWAYS: With such output, instructors have a basic framework which they can alter according to their specific needs, pedagogical focal points, length of class, and type of class (lecture, lab, seminar, flipped, and so on). For instance, a 50-minute lecture may not be enough time to cover all of these areas, so instructors may need to break up this lesson plan, so it is delivered over several days. The ChatGPT output implies a lecture-heavy approach and equates a lesson with a lecture where lecture is the noun (thing/event) instead of the verb (action/teaching method), so instructors will want to include greater interactions and active learning, such as interactive exercises and activities, to make the lesson more engaging and effective. Instructors in a flipped classroom may break up the output and clearly delineate what students need to do before class to prepare for in-class activities, discussions, or projects, which instructors will also add to the output. Regardless of the instructional choices in play, instructors have a very basic lesson outline that they can utilize and plan with.
ChatGPT works best when you fine tune your prompts. One way to help the chatbot stay on target is to describe a series of itemized steps (step-by-steps) or a process that you want it to follow. Provide as much detailed direction as you need per step.
If your conversation with the chatbot is four of five prompts long, you may run into a situation where you lose the chatbot. Meaning, it no longer ‘remembers’ your original prompt. If this happens to you, simply copy and paste earlier prompts (and outputs) into your next prompt. This should fix the problem.
QUICK PROMPTS
-
Quick Prompt 1: Generate lesson plans that incorporate pop culture references.
- Example Prompt: Create a lesson plan for an introductory public health university course that incorporates Stranger Things as a pop culture reference.
-
Quick Prompt 2: Generate the titles of texts to research to prepare for teaching a new course.
- Example Prompt: Generate the titles of texts I can research to help me prepare for teaching a course in Nursing and Ethics.
-
Quick Prompt 3: Generate techniques to help teach a particular delivery style.
- Example Prompt: Generate techniques to help me teach a fourth-year university seminar.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
AI Research Assistant: Ask ChatGPT to update you with the latest developments or recent advances in your field.
-
- Sample Prompt: Update me with the most recent advancements in [indicate field].
- Example Prompt: Update me with the most recent advancements in Psychology.
Library Help: Ask ChatGPT to provide you with supplemental resources for yourself or your students.
-
- Sample Prompt: Provide a list for university students of scholarly works on [indicate topic].
- Example Prompt: Provide a list for university students of scholarly works on Hamlet.
Suggestions: Ask ChatGPT to brainstorm suggestions on how to facilitate your course.
-
- Sample Prompt: Provide me with some suggestions on teaching a fourth-year university seminar in [indicate field].
- Example Prompt: Provide me with some suggestions on teaching a fourth-year university seminar in Political Science.