ACUE Teaching & Learning with AI.jpg

BIO20 Biology- A Human Perspective.

Abstractive Concepts, Personalized Examples, Role Play

Reflection on Instructional Change:

My ACUE Practice—
I implemented [Teaching With AI-Inclusive Learning Experiences] in spring 2024. The BIO20 course has 4 content units, the GenAI application occurred during Unit III: Evolution. There were 90 non-biology-major students, from freshmen to seniors in the class. I gave students an assignment in which students used GenAI to generate personalized examples to facilitate their understanding of evolution & evolutionary research.
My Rationale—
I gave such an assignment because I strongly believe examples can make abstractive concepts, e.g., natural selection, more understandable, particularly if the examples come from students themselves. In addition, GenAI can play the role of a non-believer that argues against evolutionary concepts which can push students to think more critically of the concepts. Finally, evolutionary studies are a science that deals with phenomena that are observable and quantifiable. GenAI can generate drafts of evolutionary research proposals in a matter of seconds, offering an opportunity for students to understand evolutionary studies as fact-finding science.
Procedures of the assignment—
Individual students first thought of [a specific trait] of [a particular species] that interest them, for example, the [color of mane] of [African lion]. Since students had the freedom of choosing the traits and species, they would have the ownership of the examples. They then used the following three prompts to get responses from GenAI. Students fed the prompts one-by-one to GenAI:
1. In the tone of an evolutionary biologist, use natural selection to explain step-by-step how [a specific trait] has evolved in [a particular species] to a college freshman. (Personalized example)
2. In the tone of a non-believer in evolution, describe how someone would criticize the explanation you just gave. (Role play)
3. I want to do research on the evolution of [a specific trait] in [a particular species]. Give me a step-by-step guide for gathering data, the more detailed and specific the better. This should include information on study sites, sample sizes, equipment needs, a research schedule, manpower required, and the amount of funding needed. (Evolution is observable and quantifiable.)
After students had the AI responses, I guided them to reflect on each response. For example, I asked: How does the use of personal examples improve your understanding of natural selection? How does engaging with dissenting viewpoints enhance your critical thinking skills and affect your learning about evolutionary theory? How does drafting a research proposal help you understand evolutionary concepts better? How does drafting a research proposal help you understand scientific methods better? Students then posted their reflections on a Discussion Forum to share with other students. Students were encouraged, but are not required, to comment on other students’ posts.

Impacts on Teaching & Learning–-
About 1/3 of students had no prior experience of using GenAI to help them learn. I did not hold an overall survey of students' responses to the GenAI assignment. A few students I did sample thought 1) the assignment gave them deeper insights into evolutionary concepts; 2) the time schedule was adequate for this activity; 3) the detailed What-Why-&-How guidelines were very helpful for knowing exactly what to accomplish. I did ask all students to reflect on the use of GenAI. Here are two of the responses.
Student 1: Using AI was really cool. It is more detailed than a regular search engine such as google. It gave me a summary of each reason why the species fur color could have evolved along with examples on how. At the very end of the AI giving me all the reasons it explained the overall conclusion of what it said. I think as a college student, that tool is a very helpful guide in finding research and or using it to find a general idea of the information that you need to look into. Not only that but I am sure that if I asked the AI for further detailed examples with evidence that it would be able to give me sources.
Student 2: I had never used Al before; I was shocked on how quick it was able to generate an extensive response. I feel like Al is a very powerful tool that can help with developing a thorough research paper or document. I was honestly not expecting for the Al to be as detailed and extensively elaborate on the questions being asked. Even though it can be a good tool to have available and use in certain occasions, I feel like it is a tool we should not always rely on. Due to Al just pulling all its information from all over the internet without confirming if the information is also credible. That means that we may need to do further information to ensure that the information given is actually credible.
Overall, nearly all students appreciated the experience of this assignment and would like to explore more about GenAI in the future to help them learn. Personally, I really like the outcomes of this assignment. Students were able to engage in active learning by a very patient and thoughtful personal tutor, the GenAI, that gives them personalized examples, role plays someone that challenges viewpoints, provides a road map to achieve complex plans.

Influential ACUE Activities—
For me, the [Practice and Reflect Written Assignment] was the most helpful component of ACUE. It forced me to critically rethink my old approaches weekly, but I must say I appreciate all ACUE modules and the posts/comments from colleague. I'd say this is one of the turning points of my teaching career. Thank you!
I had the pleasure of joining the CTL "Observe and Analyze" synchronous zoom session with Drs. Ronald Coleman, Thien-Huong Ninh and Mattew Krauel on week 6. I greatly appreciate the comments from them. The main comments were to … 1) Educate students beforehand that GenAI can give unreliable information; and 2) Teach students how to write GenAI prompts to reduce the likelihood of receiving undesirable outputs.

My Aha Moments--
I like to give different examples in class to solidify abstractive concepts. However, students tend to disconnect from examples they do not own. My aha moment came when I realized that GenAI is an excellent tool for generating personalized examples in a matter of seconds and playing various roles that give different perspectives. With the new GenAI assignments I have made and will make, I hope students will be able to comprehend abstractive concepts better with their own examples and think critically when hearing different voices.

Evidence of Instructional Change

evidence of instructional change
My Assignment	Student Work	Module Badges

Practice and Reflect Teaching and Learning with AI:

I implemented [Teaching With AI-Inclusive Learning Experiences] in the form of an assignment. About 1/3 of students had no prior experience of using GenAI to help them learn. I did not hold an overall survey of students' responses to the GenAI assignment. A few students I did sample thought 1) the assignment gave them deeper insights into evolutionary concepts; 2) the time schedule was adequate for this activity; 3) the detailed What-Why-&-How guidelines were very helpful for knowing exactly what to accomplish. I did ask all students to reflect on the use of GenAI.

Overall, nearly all students appreciated the experience of this assignment and would like to explore more about GenAI in the future to help them learn. Personally, I really like the outcomes of this assignment. Students were able to engage in active learning by a very patient and thoughtful personal tutor, the GenAI, that gives them personalized examples, role plays someone that challenges viewpoints, provides a road map to achieve complex plans.

Course Syllabus

BIO20 Syllabus 2024F.pdf

Faculty Bio

faculty bio
	Hi, I am an ecologist. Here I am with three of the organisms I have studied: Taiwan vole (on forehead), Rice paddy frog tadpole (on hair), and Agamid lizard (by my cheek). I consider myself extremely fortunate to be living in Sacramento, at the center of one of the global biodiversity hot spots: the 'California Floristic Province'. In my classes, I try to bring students closer to the wonderful natural world.

Funding
	This work was supported by: US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project TECH4Equity US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM4Equity P031C210012 *Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the US Department of Education.