Friday, 31 May 2024 11:00am – 12:00pm

This seminar will be delivered in Lecture Theatre 4

Speaker: Dr Francesca van den Berg

Host: Dr Stephen George-Williams

Title: Let’s chat about ChatGPT: adapting assessment in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how our students interact with technology. The increasing popularity of AI, in particular generative AI, means that current assessments may no longer be assessing student capabilities and developing the learning outcomes originally intended. In this seminar, I will describe the approach first-year biology is taking to develop key skills in scientific report writing, in an educational environment that includes generative AI. As part of a Strategic Education Grant, we have been using surveys and focus groups to understand how first year biology students are currently using AI, and what their perspectives are around incorporating AI into written assessment tasks. I will explore, using student assessment data, a report writing assessment that has been modified to develop students’ capacity to critique output produced through generative AI. Overall, my findings demonstrate that currently our students have very mixed feelings about the use of AI in assessment, and that explicit instruction and scaffolding is needed to help them develop skills needed to effectively integrate the use of AI into written assessments.

Bio: Fran is an education-focused academic in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SoLES). As the unit coordinator of a large-cohort first year biology unit of study, she has a focus on transition pedagogy and how to create quality educational experiences at scale.  Her innovations in providing support, authentic learning experiences and quality feedback for students at scale led to her being awarded a Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2022. Fran is now leading a Strategic Education Grant that is rethinking assessment across first year SoLES in response to the increased popularity of generative AI.