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College instructors and students have mixed feelings about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in postsecondary classes, with worries about academic integrity countered by the hope that AI can also be used to enhance learning. But despite their mixed feelings, both instructors and students agree that AI is here to stay.
These findings come from The Latest Insights into Academic Integrity: Instructor & Student Experiences, Attitudes, and the Impact of AI 2024 Update, a new report from Wiley. The results were gathered in surveys with college instructors and students across North America.
The results of Wiley’s survey show both instructors and students believe cheating is on the rise in college classrooms. Nearly all instructors (96 percent) say they believe at least some of their students cheated over the past year, a substantial increase from 72 percent in Wiley’s 2021 survey. And more than half (53 percent) of students say there’s more cheating now than last year, with 23 percent saying significantly more.
The majority of both students and instructors also believe cheating will increase in the next few years, largely because of increased use of AI. And instructors worry that AI could negatively impact students’ critical thinking and writing skills.
On the other hand, students and instructors believe AI can help generate ideas, save time, and assist learners with understanding difficult content if used appropriately.
“While students and instructors have a general belief that AI will be used in ways that are detrimental to academic integrity, they also seem to sense that AI can benefit learning when used the right way,” said Lyssa Vanderbeek, Wiley group vice president for courseware. “These beliefs will continue to change as instructors and students gain more experience with AI and as the tools that leverage AI continue to evolve.”
“These data drive home the need for faculty to rethink our learning outcomes, teaching strategies and assessments,” said David A. Rettinger, applied professor of psychology at the University of Tulsa and coauthor of the book Cheating Academic Integrity: Lessons from 30 Years of Research. “AI will affect every aspect of learning, and faculty must determine whether the impact is positive or negative. AI is disruptive. It is not a fad that we can ignore and hope it goes out of style.”
Use of AI limited
The findings suggest many of the attitudes expressed by students and especially instructors may not be based on actual experience. Use of AI is much more widespread among students than instructors, yet fewer than half (45 percent) of students say they’ve used AI in the classes the past year. Only 15 percent of instructors say the same.
Students are most likely to have used generative AI tools to help with writing assignments, to brainstorm and generate ideas, and to help understand difficult concepts.
Students who have not used AI in their classes in the past year say it is because they don’t trust AI tools, they are concerned their instructor would think they were cheating, and/or they’re not familiar with how to use AI tools.
Deterring cheating
Instructors plan to make a variety of changes to help protect academic integrity and avoid misuse of AI. These plans include using different types of assessments, such as more in-person exams, and more communication to students on the negative consequences of cheating and methods used to detect cheating attempts. The findings suggest demonstrating how classes are relevant to students and their career goals could also help.
Instructors clearly express a need for guidance on how to properly use AI and tools to deal with academic misconduct enabled or encouraged by AI.
This press release originally appeared online.
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