On Episode 613, I welcome Marc Watkins, Director of the AI Institute for Teachers and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation at the University of Mississippi, to Teaching in Higher Ed. We explore how skepticism and curiosity can co-exist in our approach to AI in higher education, discussing the challenging landscape where both faculty and students receive conflicting messages about the use, ethics, and value of artificial intelligence.

Marc Watkins shares practical insights from his work at the intersection of generative AI, student learning, and faculty development. He highlights the confusion students feel navigating disparate AI policies, and the tension faculty experience as they grapple with automation and changing teaching conditions. We consider the complexities of assessment in the age of "agentic" AI, the importance of fostering critical thinking and resilience, and transparent communication as AI continues to reshape learning environments.

Resources from the episode:

• Sesame Street: One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)
• What We Give Up When We Let AI Decide: Automation Is Easy. Judgment Is Not, by Marc Watkins
• Working with AI is more Mindset than Skill, by Marc Watkins
• Civics of Technology’s Privacy Week Resources
• The Opposite of Cheating
• The Transformers: Imagining the Future of the Teaching of Writing, by Anna Mills, Jon Ippolito, Maha Bali, Jeremy Douglass, Mark C. Marino, Annette Vee, Marc Watkins

Episode topics:

• Skepticism and Curiosity: Holding Both in the Age of AI
• Navigating Mixed Messages About AI in Higher Education
• Balancing AI Policy Across Courses and Disciplines
• Student Experiences: Fear, Confusion, and Agency with AI
• Faculty Dilemmas: Automation vs. Human Connection
• Agentic AI and the Challenge of Online Assessment
• Embodied Experiences in Disembodied Online Spaces
• Oral Assessments: Human Interaction or AI Proctoring?
• Considering Equity and Inclusion in AI Adoption
• Critical Thinking and Resilience as Essential AI Skills

Discussion questions:

1. Skepticism and Curiosity: Why does Marc Watkins argue it’s important to hold both skepticism and curiosity when engaging with AI in education? How might this dual mindset affect faculty and student experiences?
2. Mixed Messages to Students: What are some examples of mixed messages students receive about using AI in their coursework, and how might this confusion impact their learning and behavior?
3. Faculty Perspectives: How are faculty navigating their own conflicting messages about AI, especially when it comes to using AI tools for grading and instructional design? What risks or benefits do they perceive?
4. Transparency and Ethics: What steps can faculty take to be transparent about their own AI usage in teaching and assessment? Why does Marc Watkins recommend outlining one’s own practices in the syllabus?
5. Oral Assessments and AI: What concerns did Marc Watkins raise about the emerging trend of AI-proctored oral assessments? How might this shift change the most human aspects of education?
6. Equity and Inclusion: In the midst of rapid change and automation, what risks did the conversation highlight for historically marginalized populations in higher education, and how can institutions better support these students when adapting to AI?

Recommended

Sam Illingworth, Founder of Slow AI, recommended via a LinkedIn post an alternative to asking students to explain something in class (something that can be done in under 30 seconds from their phones, he tells us). He expands on these ideas via a blog post: How to Test for Real Understanding When AI Makes Every Answer Sound Right.

Time for another wonderful Tiny Desk Concert. This time, it’s De La Soul at the tiny desk. Many of the songs were new, with a few familiar favorites. But all of them got me grooving and appreciating their musical genius.

Quotable Words

Harold Jarche reminds us:

In a crisis it is important to act but even more important to learn as we take action.

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Affiliate income disclosure: Books that are recommended on the podcast link to the Teaching in Higher Ed bookstore on Bookshop.org. All affiliate income gets donated to the LibroMobile Arts Cooperative (LMAC), established in 2016 by Sara Rafael Garcia.”

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