Teaching Chemistry with ALEKS
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- Anna Ivanova, Assistant Professor, Natural Sciences Department, Hostos Community College
- Bianca Rivera Pena, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Natural Sciences Department, Hostos Community College
- Allison Franzese, Associate Professor, Hostos Community College
- Juan Sironi, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Natural Sciences Department, Hostos Community College
- Anna Manukyan, Associate Professor, Natural Sciences Department, Hostos Community College
Emerging AI Technologies
ALEKS (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces) is an artificial intelligence-based learning and assessment system that we have implemented in General Chemistry courses at Hostos Community College. This platform helps us identify the level of preparedness for the course of the students through the diagnostic test - Initial Knowledge Check. Next, the students are taken to their individual learning path – learning and mastering course modules. Apart from providing students with an opportunity to learn, master and retain the material, the platform is also very useful for instructors in conducting detailed assessment. Among other benefits, ALEKS provides instructors with reports on progress and time spent on each topic by the class in general and individual students, as well as customized reports. Most importantly, it helps instructors identify the course topics which the majority of students in the class struggle with, and it alerts instructors if students procrastinate, or have not been working on assignments. Overall, we find the use of this artificial intelligence-based system helpful in our chemistry classes.
Empowering Our Academic Community: Elevating AI Literacy and Integrating GAI Policies into the Syllabi
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- Shiang-Kwei Wang, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Academic Affairs, Hostos Community College
- Andrea Fabrizio, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs, Hostos Community College
Emerging AI Technologies
Our campus Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) has been receiving increasing reports from faculty regarding students' use of Generative AI (GAI) in their work. To provide faculty with more resources for making decisions on the use of GAI, Hostos OAA formed a task force led by our AIO, an OAA Dean, the Center for Teaching and Learning Director, and several faculty members. This task force aims to offer recommendations through the syllabi template. They developed three scenarios to guide faculty in adopting, restricting, or limiting the use of GAI and provided language to help faculty discuss the use of GAI with students. We view GAI as a type of Cognitive Tool, a means to extend human cognitive abilities, and believe that the ability to use GAI should be included as part of technology literacy. This presentation will discuss the cognitive tool approach, the creation of student-centered learning environments, demonstrate a series of prompts that could be used by both faculty and students, and explore the possibilities of adopting GAI to support research and scholarship.
AI-Powered Podcasting: Amplifying Student Voices with Audiovisual Assessments
This presentation will cover how to use the art of podcasting as an assessment tool in higher education, some tips for incorporating AI into podcast production to make it accessible for everyone, and utilizing podcasts as learning materials in a college course. No matter what the subject, there is a podcast out there to supplement reading materials and make it more personal to the learner. We will discuss how to best use podcasts as part of course materials to support dual coding learning processing theory. Podcasts can be used to discuss important social issues, technical processes and personal stories. Amplify student (and faculty) voices by allowing them to share their stories in an authentic way. This is a very versatile format that most courses can utilize as an assessment tool. We will discuss different approaches to grading podcasts as an assessment, and how to incorporate it into your courses. We'll look at the minimal technical requirements required to record and edit podcasts, and how AI tools can help streamline the workflow and spark creative ideas. Learn how to use AI tools to create supplemental podcast materials, such as transcripts and imagery, which make podcasts accessible beyond just audio.
Customizing GPTs for Necessary and Productive Difficulty
Using OpenAI’s ChatGPT4, I have been developing and including customized GPTs in my coursework with students. Principally, students have worked with two discussion partner GPTs, “Newob,” and “Nuliti.” With Newob, a student discusses their wonderings, insights, and confusion and instead of answers and clarifications they receive critical questions to push their thinking about the given reading. For small groups, Nuliti acts as a facilitator, discussing topics and requesting textual evidence to enrich the conversation. To date, these tools have been praised by students for their ability to aid their comprehension of complex texts and elicit new perspectives. Reframing AI for inquiry and reflection, as opposed to expedience and convenience, I will present and model these AI tools designed for Humanities-based courses, but applicable across disciplines. These tools aid students in critically assessing and reflecting on content, thus enhancing the productivity of difficulty so necessary to the learning process. Additionally, I will debut a systemic approach linking these tools for project-centered activities that include AI-assisted rubric-based assessment of students’ work with the tools.
Can CS Students Leverage AI Without Essential Access to Technology Infrastructure?
Presenters will discuss the results of a cross-CUNY survey with 604 student respondents asking whether students have adequate access to technology to succeed in Computer Science / information technology courses. An overview of the results will be shared including student reported access to and use of technology (hardware, operating systems, other software) and their expressed needs and preferences to better succeed in CS. About one-third of CS majors report unreliable access to a laptop or desktop to complete coursework while on campus. There was also a notable decline in students owning or having consistent access to a computer earlier in their studies (56%) compared to those closer to graduation (84%). Results point to several essential student needs with strong implications for retaining diverse and marginalized CS students. Presenters will ask: to what extent do barriers to baseline computing infrastructure preclude students and instructors from engaging in the necessary knowledge creation, application, analysis and critique that generative AI demands? Can initiatives like the NSF’s EducateAI offer CUNY support despite the technology access gaps our students and campuses have?
