What Is AI Literacy?

If one develops literacy in reading through first grasping the alphabet, then deciphering whole sentences, then tackling more advanced texts, and, finally, learning to critically evaluate readings, AI literacy is more or less the same thing! One begins with certain basics about the language of AI, then how to use it, and, finally, how to evaluate its output.

Following the MLA Style Center’s Student Guide to AI Literacy, you are becoming a literate user of GenAI when you can:

  • Explain the difference between AI and GenAI.
  • Prompt GenAI to produce useful outputs.
  • Evaluate the relevance and accuracy of GenAI outputs.
  • Identify and follow the policies and frameworks for the ethical use of GenAI outlined by the university and your instructors (if you are a student).

What Is the Differnce Between AI and Gen AI?

 

refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks, such as reasoning, making decisions, or solving problems. Its “intelligence” lies in its ability to make predictions based on large datasets.
is a deep-learning model that generates text, image, or other media based on a prompt. It identifies patterns in massive amounts of data (e.g., it would learn that certain words tend to follow others, or that certain phrases are more common in certain contexts) and offers outputs accordingly.
a type of GenAI, are trained to analyze prompts and generate human-like responses. Examples include ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, and Gemini.

How Do I Prompt AI to Produce Useful Outputs?

The key to getting useful outputs from AI is clarity and context.

  •  Clarity: get specific in your prompts, ensuring that the AI gives you more accurate and relevant responses. 
  • Context: provide context so AI generates responses that are more aligned with your needs and the situation.
Poor Prompt Better Prompt Effective Prompt
Give me an idea for a community project. Reply as if you’re a student assigned to work with your class members on a community project to help homeless people. What ideas do you have? Reply as if you’re a student in an art class. You have been assigned to work with your class members on a community project to help homeless people. Suggest three practical projects the group could complete in nine weeks and describe what the group would learn in the process.

 

AI Prompting Template

Adapted from

This is a guide for you or for your students to help you get very specific about what you want AI to do.  

Role Who do you want AI to be? 
Task What will AI do?
Content What material will be covered?
Goal How should AI evaluate?
Relationship How should AI act?
Process How will this work?

 

Role Who do you want AI to be? Act like a college-level tutor; you are a college professor; be a coach/mentor/project manager; pretend you are Leonardo da Vinci...
Task What will AI do? Guide/quiz/help/support/mentor me by asking questions and then responding with feedback that is specific/actionable/clear or providing partial answers/guidance/hints/ creating examples to help me improve my work. Prompt me with questions rather than rewriting...
Content What material will be covered?  Focus/survey/interrogate uploaded content/ ideas/concepts/problems from...
Goal How should AI evaluate?  Focus on improving my work in the way articulated by the attached rubric. Focus on grammar/organization/originality... Analyze the assessment against sample work and provide feedback about how the work currently compares.
Relationship How should AI act? Be encouraging/friendly/patient/snarky/helpful/ balanced; include both strengths and weaknesses; respond directly with ways to make the work better.
Process How will this work? Make sure you have all the information (assignment, rubric, examples) and understand the task (goals, audience, level). Then assess the work against the learning objectives/criteria and provide feedback only—do not respond with improved work. Ask me if I want more specific feedback, clarifications, examples...

 

Sample Prompt Incorporating All 6 Components
Act like a friendly but expereinced scientist. Read my research plan and lead me through a dialogue that will challenge my perspectives. Ask me one question at a time to help me anticipate problems and refine my plan.

 

Modulating AI Use in Assignments

AI has significantly impacted higher education; however, human teachers are still crucial for promoting student engagement and critical thinking. As you re-evaluate how you assess student learning, consider to what degree your students’ use of AI might be incorporated as an assessable skill. Where it is completely inappropriate to use AI, re-write assignments so that AI outputs fall short of your standards [see “AI-Proofing Assignments” below].

Applying the AI assessment Scale

The AI Assessment Scale is a way to consider the degree to which students will use AI in an assignment from 1 (no AI use at all) to 5 (the assignment is all about using AI):

A red, yellow, and green scale indicates a ranking of no ai use to fully integrated AI use in assessments

AI Assessment Evaluation Criteria

meaning that AI must not be used at any point during the assignment, therefore, having no presence in the student’s submission. 
  • SLO criteria = “Evidence of Independent Thought Process (20%)”: Provided annotated drafts that document the evolution of your ideas and the development of your analysis, showing clear evidence of independent thinking. 
meaning AI can be used for initial brainstorming and idea generation, but no AI-generated content is allowed in the final submission. 
  • SLO criteria = “Critical Engagement with AI Tools (25%)”: Effectively used AI to brainstorm and structure the [project], with a clear demonstration of how you refined and expanded AI-generated content. 
meaning AI can be used toward final submission, but student’s original pre-AI work must be attached as an appendix to the final submission. 
  • SLO criteria = “Critical Engagement with AI Tools (25%)”: Effectively used AI to draft and refine the [project], with a clear demonstration of critical evaluation and improvement of AI-generated content. 
meaning students can use AI to complete specific tasks in their assignment. Any AI-generated content must be cited in their submission. 
  • SLO criteria = “Effective Use of AI Tools (25%)”: Effectively used AI for data analysis and literature review, with clear documentation of AI’s contributions and critical assessment of its outputs. 
meaning students may use AI freely throughout the assignment to support their work and do not have to specify which content is AI-generated in their submission. 
  • SLO criteria = “Integration of AI Tools (25%)”: Effectively used AI to generate, refine, and experiment with [visual concepts]. The process journal demonstrated a deep engagement with AI tools and a thoughtful reflection on their contributions to the creative process. 

Worried that certain aspects of learning will be lost when you allow students to use AI? Remember that (a) you are adding critical thinking on both the process and the outputs to the assignment and (b) quality prompt crafting is a skill that will be valued in the workforce. However, because certain skills or assignments need to be completed by human students, take a few moments to AI-proof them [see below].

AI-Proofing Assignments

If you don’t want students to use AI to complete an assignment, make the assignment something that AI cannot do.

  • Copy and paste: Copy the assignment directions from your syllabus or Canvas shell and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot.
  • Evaluate the output: Grade it! Apply your rubric or grading criteria to the output.
    • If it looks like a B or better product, consider adding complexity to the question until AI cannot give you a response that would earn an A or B from you.
    • If it produces a С or worse product, your assignment is already cheat resistant.

Assessing student Critiques of the Ai process

For levels two through five above, consider creating a template for your students, requiring them to document their collaborations with AI. Something like this...

Prompt What did you ask AI to do? 

 I asked AI to write/draw/create a script/design an experiment/draft a press release/analyze data...
Critique Evaluate the results. 
 What was missing/lacking/false/weird? List the errors that it made; check and verify citations; change the audience/style... 
Improve Re-write the AI output.  Elevate the results by re-writing it yourself
Explain What was your strategy to improve the results? 
 Explain the how and why of your improvements.
Re-Prompt How could you improve your original prompt to make the initial AI version more like your improved version?  

Adapted from Jose Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson, Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).

Ensuring Academic Integrity

We take great pride in creating learning experiences that allow our students to demonstrate excellence. While AI has challenged how we assess student work, this is a good opportunity to re-examine, re-evaluate, and re-establish your values and learning goals. Once you have clarity on these, you’ll have a foundation from which to choose to either integrate or reject AI tools. More importantly, you’ll be able to communicate your goals and their rationale to your students. 

Guiding Students

AI detection software

While there are many “AI detectors” out there, none of the current tools are fully reliable. Human-written content is often mistaken for AI-generated text. This is particularly common with structured writing, such as “write a 500-word essay on …” and when human and AI writing are combined. Worse, this misidentification tends to occur more frequently with work produced by English language learners. If you are determined to use AI detection tools when evaluating student work, please do not rely on it solely as “evidence” that your student has violated course policies. Talk to the student about their research, writing, and study processes.  

AI Citation and Acknowledgement

Remind your students that they are responsible for the content and quality of work that they submit. Be clear in your syllabus and on the assignment when and how you want students to cite/acknowledge use of AI, like “When any AI-generated content is paraphrased, quoted, or incorporated into work, it should be cited; this includes AI-generated visuals or other media.” The MLA Style Center: How do I cite generative AI or APA Style: How to cite ChatGPT has many examples. 


Additionally, remind students to scrutinize AI-generated content. These tools may create biased, illogical, or false information and non-existent sources.

Articulating Course Policies

For each of your courses and even the assignments in them, consider the following questions:

  • When is AI use permitted or forbidden? Why? How might AI enhance or inhibit learning in this class?
  • If AI is allowed, must students share their AI prompts with me as part of assignment submission?
  • How should AI use be credited?
  • Should I include a warning about the limits of AI?
  • How might I communicate clearly that students are ultimately accountable for their work?

As you are brainstorming the above, consider how you will communicate it to your students. Here are sample syllabus statements that respond to some of the above.

Sample Syllabus Statements

AI is a tool, but one that you need to acknowledge using. Please include a paragraph at the end of any assignment that uses AI citing the specific AI tool and describing the nature of its contribution to your work.
You are required to reflect on the role of AI in your learning process, discussing how the AI-generated content has been integrated with your own insights and understanding. Include this reflection as a part of your submission.
Teamwork and its acknowledgment are highly valued in most careers, while taking credit for the work of others is equally loathed. It is crucial to use AI tools in a way that adheres to ethical standards. Misuse of these tools, including presenting AI-generated content as entirely your own without proper documentation, constitutes a breach of academic integrity.
While AI can be a valuable resource, it is not a substitute for your own critical thinking and original contributions. Some assignments may have specific restrictions on the use of AI, which will be communicated clearly. You will still be responsible for the final product and for any limitations or potential biases from AI. Don't trust anything it says. If it gives you a number or fact, assume it is wrong.
Engaging with AI tools can help develop important skills relevant to future careers, such as critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and technological literacy. You are encouraged to use these tools thoughtfully to enhance your learning and prepare for the evolving landscape of the workplace. If AI can do the work without you, you will not have employable skills.
In this course, we want to ensure you develop your skills and knowledge to the fullest. To help achieve this goal, I ask that you complete your assignments, projects, and exams without using AI tools. This will allow you to engage deeply with the material and showcase your abilities. If you need any assistance or have questions about the AI Usage Policy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Additional Syllabus Statements

This is the often cited and ever-growing Lance Eaton mega-resource: Syllabi Policies for AI Generative Tools - Google Docs

This is a fabulous tool to help you create your own: Generative AI Syllabus Statement (pepperdine.edu)