Students, families, and faculty see the impact of AI in education

W. P. Carey faculty share how they leverage generative AI to help students study, personalize feedback, and create compelling content.

Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Dan Gruber founded W. P. Carey's Coffee, Tea, and ChatGPT series in the spring of 2023 to complement AI-related discussions within various business school departments and committees. Today, other higher education institutions have adopted the series format to encourage university faculty, staff, and students to exchange innovative ideas related to AI in teaching, learning, and research.

"I am excited to see how our 'Coffee, Tea, and ChatGPT' learning community has grown and expanded its impact here on campus and in the field," says Gruber, co-founder of the Teaching and Learning Leaders Alliance, which connects business school leaders from around the world. "Some of my fellow Teaching and Learning Leaders have created their own version of the idea and one has used our Coffee, Tea, and ChatGPT name and thoughtfully acknowledged myself and our school. I hope that there will be many more who follow our lead with the concept and the name as the field needs these types of communities for collective sensemaking."

During the series' 15th session last month, Clinical Associate Professor of Economics Patricia Ramirez De La Vina, Marketing Professor of Practice Bret Giles, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Economics Andrei Kovrijnykh shared how they are using generative AI to aid in student learning, provide personalized student feedback, and support family members and students in innovative ways.

Ramirez De La Vina was one of the first W. P. Carey faculty members to participate in ASU's AI Innovation Challenge last year, where she investigated using AI-enhanced pedagogy to improve online student learner engagement, content comprehension, and efficiency. Inspired by her findings, she created three ChatGPT bots to assist students grasp basic economic topics: The Demand Genie, which tackles economic demand concepts; the Supply Buddy, which helps students navigate the laws of supply; and the EquilibiaBot, which delves into market equilibrium. Each bot includes guardrails to ensure the AI does not use irrelevant examples or solve homework questions. However, they do not lecture, grade, rely on class materials, or replace class discussions, ensuring they remain supportive learning tools rather than instructional substitutes.

By providing students with examples that complement their knowledge levels, the chatbots empower students struggling with academic concepts.

"It became clear that teaching and AI are not interchangeable but are interdependent," said Ramirez De La Vina.

Kovrijnykh, who teaches large online classes, explained that fielding student questions about course content, setup, and assignment scores is time-consuming. To help streamline these processes, Kovrijnykh shared how he uses AI to examine student assignments and test results, determine which concepts they struggle to understand, and create personalized feedback with study recommendations.

"It's detailed and personalized. You can send reminders to students who have not submitted assignments, and the other students will not receive the reminders. You can send emails to students who are not performing well and customize your communication using basic tools," he said.

Giles discussed using ChatGPT in creative ways to support his family, which led him to develop engaging content for his students. When Giles' mother-in-law suffered a stroke and developed aphasia, an impairment that causes difficulty understanding written or verbal communication, she was no longer able to enjoy reading long books. Giles began using ChatGPT to write her short, contemporary romance and historical fiction stories. As the bot improved its storytelling skills, Giles tried incorporating his course materials into short stories to create class content.

"Students love it. They're reading the information now because you've made it compelling," said Giles. "It taught me that AI usage builds creative muscles."

W. P. Carey's Coffee, Tea, and ChatGPT sessions are powered by Principled Innovation, ASU's newest design aspiration, ensuring thoughtful and ethical approaches to AI in education.

"Generative AI in teaching and learning is evolving not just daily but hourly, with constant advancements," said Gruber. "Having this guiding principle rooted in our design aspirations helps us navigate this rapidly changing space. With Principled Innovation at the forefront, we are constantly asking the question, “Just because we can, should we?"

The Coffee, Tea, and ChatGPT series will continue exploring generative AI in education with more discussions in April.