Assignments Susceptibility of GAI Use Tool
This quick and easy too asks you yes or not questions regarding characteristics of assignments that are associated with an increased likelihood of students using alternative means/shortcuts to finish the assignment (i.e. GAI, another student, google, etc).
Susceptibility Tool
Directions: Go through each question below and answer yes or no. After answering, count the number of "no"s you've answered.
- Does the assignment explicitly state the skills and knowledge the student will gain, and how those apply beyond this specific course? (Purpose)
- Does the task require the student to integrate personal experience, local context, current events, or career-related goals? (Relevance)
- Is the assignment worth a small portion of their final grade? (Stakes)
- Does the timeline allow for 'emergency' extensions or a 'slip day' policy to reduce panic-induced academic dishonesty? (Pressure)
- Are there examples of "what a good one looks like" so students don't feel "lost" and turn to GAI to find a starting point? (Criteria)
Analysis of Your Responses
If you answered no to 0-1: You are at lower risk for students using GAI. Feel free to review the strategies related to each question to see if other ideas might align with your assignment and level it up!
If you answered no to 2-3: You are at a moderate risk for students using GAI. We recommend addressing 1-2 of the statements you responded “no” to.
If you answered no to 4-5: You are at a high risk for students using GAI. We recommend you address 3-4 of the statements you said no to so that you are able to respond
“yes”.
Strategies Associated with Each Question Above
- Purpose: Add a why this matters to the assignment. For example: “By doing this, you will practice [skill x], which is used in [insert profession], and this prepares you for the [upcoming exam/project] by doing [task y]
- Relevance: Ask students to include one paragraph explaining how a concept from the assignment relates to a [insert class discussion/specific resource/personal experience/etc], or how it applies to a specific career goal.
- Stakes: Ensure that that a significant portion of the grade is based on the process (drafts, reflections, peer feedback, etc.). Scaffold by setting deadlines for parts of the project to ensure steady progress. For example: make ¼ of the points associated with a pitch, self-evaluation of the assignment or annotated bibliography due 2 weeks earlier.
- Pressure: Consider giving every student one “slip day” per semester they can use on any assignment or allows students to turn in assignments within 24 hours of the deadline without consequences. Implement a 48-hr grace period where students can earn a maximum of a B+ on the assignment, reducing the “all or nothing” panic. Have students make a plan/timeline for completing to assignment and have them turn in reflections related to how they are doing with regards to that timeline or respond to prompts like “What are two things I will do this week (by [date]) to begin working on this assignment?” or “If I am not able to complete this assignment on time, what options will I discuss with my instructor (choosing a late submission date, choosing to submit part of the assignment on time, other options that work for your course)?”
- Criteria: Share a past anonymized student’s work or GAI generated work with comments on why it earned full credit. Have students critique a mediocre example you designed (with or without GAI) using a rubric and discuss what could be done to improve the example.
If you'd like to discuss your assignment or any of these strategies further, feel free to email ctl@kent.edu.
Click below for more suggestions:
- General Strategies to Discourage GAI Use: These strategies do not require changing of assignments necessary but are additional ways to you encourage students to not use GAI. they range from educating about ethical GAI use, appealing to deeper meaning, and improving transparency of purpose/relevance/criteria/stakes/pressure related to the assignment.
- Redesign Strategies: These suggests are aligned with making assignments more AI-resistance and fall within two main categories, (re)focusing students on the process rather than the product, and adding friction points making using GAI more work than its worth.
- Strategies to Integrate GAI into Assignments: You may not want your students to use GAI so here you will find examples of how you integrate GAI into your assignments to help students gain more critical thinking/evaluation skills.