Fostering Digital Fluency Skills and Academic Integrity

Digital fluency has always been an important aspect of teaching and learning. We ask learners to cite their sources and critically evaluate them as a matter of course. Consider GAI an additional digital source that should (if you are permitting GAI use in your classroom) be both cited and critically evaluated for accuracy.

All content submitted by students for assessments must represent their own ideas, creations, and experiences. Content that is generated through any resources or artificial intelligence must be properly cited or acknowledged as directed by your course professor/instructor. Please refer to your professor/course instructor and/or assignment rubric for details about the acceptable use of content generated by artificial intelligence. (Jennie Miron et al., 2023)

How to Cite GAI Sources:

Modern Language Association
American Psychological Association
The Chicago Manual of Style

How to Critically Evaluate GAI Output:

Learners should approach Generative AI content with the understanding that while these technologies can produce content that seems to be accurate, it may not be.

It’s essential to consider the following:

Content Accuracy +

Although AI models can generate grammatically correct text that may seem logical and informative, they can produce content that is misleading and/or incorrect. Always cross-verify AI generated content with trusted resources to ensure accuracy.

Bias Awareness +

Generative AI can (and will) generate biased or skewed content. It is vital to critically evaluate the output for gender, racial, cultural, and ableist biases.

Ethical Considerations +

Generative AI is powerful and can create content that seems incredibly human-like. This can lead to misuse, such as generating deepfakes or disseminating false information. As responsible learners, it’s crucial to understand and respect the ethical boundaries surrounding the use of these technologies.

Source Verification +

Always verify the source of the information. Generative AI, including models like ChatGPT don’t generate information based on new data after their training cut-off. Furthermore, GAI is widely known to “hallucinate” meaning it will make things up and present the content as the truth.

Approaching Generative AI content with this critical perspective can help learners sift through the generated information more effectively, maximizing its potential as a learning tool while minimizing the risk of misinformation. (ChatGPT, 2023)

Sample Rubrics

I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT 4.0 to create sample analytic and holistic rubrics. The prompts included “Imagine you are a rubric generating robot who creates reliable and valid rubrics to assess critical thinking skills. You have been tasked with generating a rubric that evaluates students critical thinking skills and incorporates their use of generative AI. Create two holistic rubrics and two analytic rubrics to assess these skills.”

The output from these prompts was to provide examples of the kind of rubrics that could be used to assess the integration of generative AI in course assignments.

Assignment Rubric Incorporating AI Use as assignment Criteria

Criteria	4	3	2	1
Argument Structure	The argument is clearly articulated and logically structured.	The argument is generally clear and logical, with minor inconsistencies.	The argument is somewhat unclear or inconsistently structured.	The argument lacks clarity and logical structure.
Evidence	Evidence is thorough, relevant, and convincingly supports the argument.	Evidence is generally strong and relevant, with minor lapses.	Evidence is somewhat sparse, irrelevant, or does not fully support the argument.	Evidence is lacking or largely irrelevant.
Use of Generative AI	AI is used effectively to support arguments, demonstrating a high understanding of its capabilities and limitations.	AI is used effectively, but understanding or integration could be improved.	AI is used, but not effectively integrated or misunderstood.	AI is not used, or its use does not contribute to the argument.
Reflection on AI	The student clearly articulates how AI contributed to their critical thinking process and considers its limitations.	The student generally explains how AI contributed to their thinking, with minor lapses in considering its limitations.	The student’s explanation of how AI contributed to their thinking is unclear or superficial.	The student does not explain how AI contributed to their thinking.

Assignment Rubric Incorporating AI Use as assignment Criteria

Criteria	4	3	2	1
Understanding of AI	The student demonstrates a deep understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the AI.	The student demonstrates a good understanding of the AI, with minor misconceptions.	The student shows a basic understanding of the AI but has significant misconceptions.	The student shows little to no understanding of the AI.
Integration of AI	AI is seamlessly integrated into the work, effectively augmenting the student’s critical thinking.	AI is generally well integrated, though at times it may seem somewhat forced or awkward.	AI integration is inconsistent or superficial, not effectively augmenting the critical thinking process.	AI is not effectively integrated into the work.
Reflection on AI	The student clearly reflects on the role of AI in their work, considering both its contributions and its limitations.	The student generally reflects well on the AI’s role, though considerations of its limitations may be superficial.	The student’s reflection on the AI’s role is minimal or lacks depth.	The student does not reflect on the AI’s role in their work.
Innovation with AI	The student uses AI in novel or innovative ways to enhance their argument.	The student uses AI effectively, though it may lack innovation.	The student uses AI in a straightforward or predictable way, not enhancing the argument.	The student does not use AI in an innovative or meaningful way.

Sample Rubrics Reproduced with permission: Developed with ChatGPT by McMaster University P.R. Macpherson Institute. Adapted under the following Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Fostering Digital Fluency Skills and Academic Integrity

How to Cite GAI Sources:

How to Critically Evaluate GAI Output:

It’s essential to consider the following:

Sample Rubrics

Assignment Rubric Incorporating AI Use as assignment Criteria

Assignment Rubric Incorporating AI Use as assignment Criteria

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