Reflections from the Third CLT GenAI Teaching Lab
Last week members of the CLT held an online GenAI Teaching Lab, the latest in a series which has been running since winter 2024. We were encouraged to see that interest in innovative engagements with Generative AI and teaching has been building, with representation from across the university’s faculties and professional services.
There is always so much to talk about on the topic of GenAI, so we have tried to make sure we have ‘something to show’, ‘something to ask’, and ‘something to discuss’ to help focus the sessions.
The discussion started by brainstorming what an AI chatbot could theoretically help with at the University of Bath. To facilitate things, we proposed three ‘levels’ of AI chatbot that could be used, the purposes these chatbots could have, and then looked at some examples that exist in HE institutions already.
‘Institutional’ level
One of the more promising applications of AI is in supporting students and staff with administrative queries. We considered how AI-powered chatbots could handle common questions related to course administration, providing students and staff with increased time to focus on more complex issues. We thought about how AI could also play a role in signposting support services to help students navigate university life, such as booking study spaces in the library, finding out about health and social activities, and many more.
‘Course’ level
At a course level, AI could streamline administrative processes and enhance student experience and engagement. This might consist of offering instant answers to frequently asked questions around assignment deadlines or submissions or catching up ‘late’ students so that they can more quickly and effectively integrate with their peers.
‘Purpose’ level support
When we considered AI’s role in specific educational contexts, we thought about the everyday ways that AI might be a supportive tool for staff and students, from designing assessments or providing feedback (a topic for a future discussion!) to summarising lecture notes, improving accessibility of course documents, or providing personalised study materials.
Whilst we could see many potential benefits, we were sure to remind one another that it is important to acknowledge potential challenges. There was concern chatbots could reduce students’ ability to independently seek out information – perceived as a key ‘life skill’ - or that students could feel lost in an AI-driven system, emphasising the need for human intervention when AI struggles to provide sufficient support.
We will be planning further sessions for this term, so please keep an eye out for future events and participate in this space!
A reminder:
In the CLT we are experimenting with a GenAI Chat bot we have labelled the Virtual Assistant. This sits in the bottom left of pages on the Learning and Teaching Hub and is trained to respond to questions on the content of our support website.
Please try it out and we would love to get your feedback.
Blog Post by: Daniel Barker, Centre for Learning & Teaching
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