FEDERATION FOR THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Rather Than Bot-Proofing' Assignments, Educators Must Develop a Deep Knowledge of GenAI, say UofT Researchers

Michael Cournoyea and Sarah Seeley to present findings of their study as speakers at Congress 2024, Canada's largest humanities and social sciences conference, taking place June 12-21

Eighteen months after the launch of ChatGPT sparked sweeping uncertainties about the use of Generative AI (GenAI) across university campuses, a pair of University of Toronto researchers is calling on their peers to stop "bot-proofing" assignments and start thinking about what skills will be essential in an AI-mediated future.

If we don't figure it out, we run the risk of seeing our teaching practices and curricula become outdated, say Michael Cournoyea and Sarah Seeley.

"We're at a stage where a lot of educators still aren't sure how to engage with GenAI," said Cournoyea, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, at the University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre. "We're saying it's been long enough. It's time to jump in headfirst and actually start using it and talking about it in practical ways even when it means teaching new skills and changing how we assess students."

Cournoyea and Seeley, Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy, will present findings from a study they conducted to investigate GenAI in higher learning at the upcoming Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Congress 2024), Canada's largest academic gathering and one of the most comprehensive in the world, taking place June 12 to 21 in Montréal.

Billed as a leading conference on the critical conversations of our time, Congress 2024 themed "Sustaining shared futures" serves as a platform for the unveiling of thousands of research papers and presentations from social sciences and humanities experts worldwide. With more than 8,000 scholars, graduate students and practitioners expected to participate, the event focuses on what must be done to bring forth solutions for today and sustain the systems of tomorrow, with the goal of inspiring ideas, dialogue and action that create a more diverse, sustainable, democratic and just society. 

At Congress, Cournoyea and Seeley will share findings from 37 interviews conducted across a variety of disciplines to gauge how faculty and sessional instructors are feeling about the impact of GenAI. The researchers said they uncovered a range of emotions, from excitement to ambivalence to existential dread. They also uncovered feelings of denial related to the technology's actual capabilities.

"This is a major educational shift we're living through, so we thought there was value to documenting the moment and thinking about it, not only in terms of what people say, but how they say it," said Seeley, adding that even when people expressed optimism, it was often vague optimism.

"Many people believe the technology is not there yet and that they'll be able to detect whether or not a text has been generated, and that's inaccurate," she added.

Based on their findings, the researchers are calling for institutions to rethink professional development support systems for educators across disciplines and levels as instructors work to understand the technology, its potential uses and problems within specific fields, and how to teach students to use it in ways that are appropriate for learning. They also want to see more discussions taking place around assessment and the need to place more value on "new skills" that are emerging because of GenAI.

For example, if a professor is concerned that students will hand in generated text, they may attempt to "bot-proof" their course by eliminating essays and relying solely on pen and paper exams for evaluation. "The problem with that, is it's a move to save the assessment rather than a critical look at the value of the skills being assessed," explained Cournoyea, adding that professors who are traditionally hired based on their expertise in a particular field of study, now also need some technological expertise.

"If you're hired to teach writing, not only do you need to know about writing, you also need to know about robotic writing," he said.

Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences in partnership with McGill University, Congress 2024 is sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Universities Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, University Affairs, Sage, and The Conversation Canada.

Registration - which includes 140+ keynote and open Congress sessions, with a virtual attendance option for many presentations - is $30. Visit https://www.federationhss.ca/en/congress2024 to register for a community pass and access the program of events open to the public.