I suspect I will have to incorporate more in-class essays into my "W" courses for units for which there is a fair amount of online content available, as I am simply not ok with students getting credit for writing they did not do.
Best,
Ronda
Dr. Ronda Arab
Associate Professor of English
Simon Fraser University
pronouns: she/her
From: Gerardo Otero <otero@sfu.ca>
Sent: 04 August 2023 19:28:33
To: Nicky Didicher; academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Cc: Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor
Subject: Re: ChatGPTThanks, Nicky. Very useful suggestions in that Google Doc, with all the range of approaches, from prohibition to totally free access without acknowledgment.
Best regards, Gerardo
From: Nicky Didicher <didicher@sfu.ca>
Date: Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:50 PM
To: Gerardo Otero <otero@sfu.ca>, "academic-discussion@sfu.ca" <academic-discussion@sfu.ca>
Cc: Andres Cisneros-Montemayor <a_cisneros@sfu.ca>
Subject: Re: ChatGPT
Hello, Gerardo and others,
Should you wish to see a large range of different AI policy statements for many different disciplines and from many different institutions, here is a google doc curated by Lance Eaton: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RMVwzjc1o0Mi8Blw_-JUTcXv02b2WRH86vw7mi16W3U/edit?pli=1#heading=h.1cykjn2vg2wx
I completely agree that forbidding the use of generative AI is futile! And the main way to go for me is to include it the examples I give for how to write the "Assistance Acknowledged" paragraph I already ask for with essays and creative projects.
I'm planning to adjust the wording of my syllabi policies depending on the course. For example, for my quantitative analysis of poetry class this Fall, I've drafted the following:
"• you are permitted to use text-generating AI such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or Quillbot for your written assignments, provided you acknowledge it at the end of the assignment and specify what you used it for (e.g., grammar and style corrections, organization, suggestions for an effective title); note: ChatGPT writes terrible metrical poetry and isn’t good at scansion--it can find stressed syllables most of the time, but not divide lines into feet successfully; however, it’s useful for fixing grammar errors and revising for clarity"
In the instructions for their term paper, I will also note that when ChatGPT writes English essays it usually paraphrases cheater sites such as gradesaver and shmoop, and, when asked to used peer-reviewed sources, it fabricates evidence.
Nicky
From: Gerardo Otero <otero@sfu.ca>
Sent: August 4, 2023 4:47:38 PM
To: academic-discussion@sfu.ca
Cc: Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor
Subject: ChatGPT
Dear Colleagues:
In September, I’ll be teaching for the first time since ChatGPT became available. So, I’m rather dreading how I will handle this issue, but have no intention of forbidding it (that would be like stopping gravity). Earlier in the year, we had a very interesting conversation on this topic in this list. At that time, I wrote a brief insert for my syllabus based on ideas from other colleagues’ posts. I would like share that short text, asking you for any ideas, criticisms, or suggestions you might have. Here’s the text from the section pertaining to mid-term and final essays (this is a grad course):
“You are required to insert an “acknowledgments” section in mid-term and final essays. You can say whether you began with Wikipedia and engaged with ChatGPT to do your initial research, got idea X from a peer in class, and had your mother or father proofread your paper. Bear in mind that ChatGPT can yield false responses and provide references that do not exist. You must double check anything you use from this tool, and preferably stick to our required readings to write your essays. They should provide you with more than sufficient material.”
Best regards, Gerardo
__
Gerardo Otero
Professor and Graduate Chair
School for International Studies
Simon Fraser University
7200-515 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 5K3Tel. Off: +1-778-782-4508
Website: http://www.sfu.ca/people/otero.html
I thankfully acknowledge that I live and work in unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Kwikwetlem Nations.