AI Adoption Guidance for Faculty: Embrace at Your Own Pace

As technology evolves, faculty members are continuously asked to adapt, and AI is no exception. AI is not a distant concept; it’s becoming as integral to our lives as computers, cell phones, and the internet. The following principles aim to help you navigate AI adoption with intention and balance, ensuring that your needs as educators come first.

• Engage with AI as It Evolves: While there’s no rush to integrate AI into your teaching, it’s important not to put off engaging with AI. This technology is advancing quickly, and adapting alongside your peers and students helps you grow with the field rather than being left behind. Navigating together, educators can support one another in exploring AI’s potential within instructional environments.
• Your Teaching is Irreplaceable: The skills and knowledge you bring to your students are invaluable. AI is a tool to support and enhance, not replace, the incredible work you do. If it doesn’t serve your purpose or benefit your students, don’t feel pressured to adopt it.
• AI is a Journey, Not a Sprint: Incorporating AI into education is a gradual process. Don’t feel that your curricula must change overnight. Evolve your teaching methods as needed, exploring new ways AI might support your pedagogy while preserving the core of what makes your teaching special.
• Everyone’s AI Journey is Unique: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to using AI. Your experiences, skills, and expertise will shape how you choose to integrate it into your work. You may discover ways to use AI that are uniquely suited to your teaching style and to your students’ needs.

By framing AI as a supportive tool that works on your timeline, you can foster an environment where AI serves your goals rather than adding pressure. Remember, adapting to new technologies is not about rushing to keep up—it’s about choosing the right tools to support your growth and your students’ success.

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Reflecting on Course and Assessment Practices with AI

Incorporating AI into education opens new possibilities for both faculty and students. It offers opportunities to explore innovative pathways for learning, productivity, and creativity. While AI can be a powerful tool, it’s important to think about how it can enhance the valuable engagement and skill development you already foster in your courses.

• Rather than viewing AI as an all-or-nothing solution, consider the ways it might support you and your students in small, manageable ways. Like a pair of glasses, AI is there to assist, helping students achieve their learning goals without taking over the core value of what you already provide.
• AI can be integrated into a course gradually. You might explore how it can encourage growth through processes like iterative feedback, creative thinking, and problem-solving. The aim is not to replace your teaching methods but to see how AI can complement and support the unique learning environment you’ve built.

Some questions you might want to think about:

• How could AI support the diverse learning styles and needs of my students?
• In what ways might AI create opportunities for deeper engagement and collaboration?
• Could AI help shift the focus of assessments from just the final product to the learning process, experimentation, and iteration?

Through reflection, you may find ways that AI might enhance your teaching, while still honoring the core practices that make your course successful.

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Making AI Safe to Talk About in Class

Creating a safe environment for discussing AI is crucial to helping students explore how it can support their learning. As students develop their AI skills at their own pace, it’s important to create a space where they feel comfortable sharing their experiences—whether they’re taking their first steps or experimenting with more advanced uses.

It’s not about mastering AI overnight; it’s about taking those early steps and acknowledging that everyone’s journey will look different. By fostering an environment of trust, you can encourage students to learn from both their successes and mistakes as they grow in their use of AI.

Key concepts for safe and open conversations:

• AI as an Assistive Tool: Help students view AI as something that supports their individual goals, whether they’re using it for brainstorming, refining ideas, or enhancing their critical thinking skills.
• Baby Steps and Iteration: Reinforce that AI use is a process. It’s okay for students to start small, make mistakes, and learn from them. This journey involves trying, revising, and improving their use of AI over time, leading to more authentic and thoughtful outputs.
• Respecting Neurodiversity: Recognize that students will engage with AI differently depending on their learning styles and needs. Encourage discussions where they can share how AI complements their unique way of learning, fostering both understanding and creativity.
• Building Trust: Rather than setting rigid rules or relying on strict policies that limit AI use, start a conversation. Encourage students to share their experiences with AI and create a foundation where they feel safe to discuss their relationship with the technology without fear of penalties.
• Process Over Product: Emphasize that the value of AI is in the process it supports—not just in the final product. Encourage students to use AI in ways that deepen their understanding, spark creativity, and build skills that will serve them in the long term.

By making AI safe to talk about in class, you empower students to engage with the technology in meaningful ways, allowing them to develop their skills without fear or pressure.

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Mastering AI in Assignments: Use It Wisely

AI can help every assignment. AI can harm every assignment.

The difference lies in how it’s used. The key is to apply AI in ways that build depth, authenticity, and growth, allowing it to amplify your work without replacing the essential learning process.

Focus on What Matters

When using AI in assignments, guide students to focus on:

• Creativity: Use AI as a tool to brainstorm ideas, but remind students that the real value comes from their ability to refine and shape those ideas into something uniquely their own.
• Emotional Engagement: AI can be a valuable tool for clarifying thoughts and reducing anxiety about assignments. It can serve as a sounding board for emotional processing, helping students work through their feelings, gain perspective, and find insight as they engage with the task at hand.
• Iteration and Improvement: AI can help revise and improve drafts, but the magic happens when students take the feedback and make thoughtful revisions, ensuring their work reflects their voice and intent.
• Productivity and Support: AI is also valuable for automating tasks like formatting data, checking grammar, or organizing information into tables or graphs. These shortcuts boost productivity and free up mental space for deeper engagement with the material. The key is recognizing when AI is supporting the work versus doing the thinking for you.

A Litmus Test for AI Use in Assignments

Before using AI, encourage students to ask themselves:

• Am I using AI to deepen my learning, reflection, or creativity?
• Is this helping me build skills and stay authentic to the assignment’s goals?

When students focus on these principles, AI becomes a powerful tool for enhancing learning—without losing the personal growth that makes the assignment meaningful.

Students at All Levels of AI Experience

It’s important to remember that students are at different stages of their AI journey. Some may be new to the technology, while others are seasoned users who integrate AI into their daily workflows. You can learn as much from your students as students learn from you—especially as students discover creative and diverse ways to use AI in their unique contexts.

Foster a collaborative learning environment. Encourage students to share how they’re using AI and explore new possibilities together. This reciprocal learning helps everyone refine their understanding of the technology as it evolves.

Closing the Gap Between Help and Harm

Every assignment benefits from AI in different ways, and every assignment can be harmed by AI if used carelessly. But not all shortcuts are bad—AI can improve productivity in meaningful ways, like formatting data or organizing thoughts. The challenge is ensuring that these shortcuts support deeper learning rather than bypassing the essential process. Guide students to use AI thoughtfully and recognize that everyone’s journey with AI is unique, offering opportunities for learning and growth at all levels.

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Don’t Cite AI—Focus on Growth and Authenticity

To help students use AI in a deep and meaningful way, AI-generated text should be treated like a tool or an assistive technology. Think of AI like glasses that help with seeing—it supports the work but doesn’t replace it. Encouraging open conversations and trust helps students develop advanced AI skills while focusing on their own creativity and growth.

Growing into AI with Authenticity

When guiding students in their writing assignments, it is crucial to recognize that learning to use AI effectively is a journey. Students may begin with underdeveloped AI skills, using it primarily for quick tasks, but our goal as educators is to help them evolve into using AI authentically—to support their unique voice and creative thinking.

When Acknowledgment is Helpful

Students may use AI tools in ways that don’t directly appear in their final submissions. For example, they might use platforms like UT Verse to brainstorm topics or develop counterarguments for research. The acknowledgment process is not about assessment but about giving intentional thought to how AI supports writing projects. It encourages students to explore how AI can expand their skills and assist in their learning journey.

The AI Acknowledgment Worksheet serves as a tool for:

• Encouraging reflective learning that helps students grow their AI skills.
• Facilitating a more personalized approach to instruction by revealing how each student interacts with AI.
• Empowering students to explore various methods of using AI while aligning with the educational goal of producing authentic, high-quality work.

This tool enables instructors to guide students effectively, offering relevant advice based on individual engagement levels with AI. Even though customizing for every student might be challenging, the worksheet itself provides a scalable way to foster individual growth and a shared understanding of AI’s role in learning.

Guiding Students with Safety and Encouragement

Reassure students that developing AI skills is a process that takes time. Encourage them to see their work with AI as an evolving practice. The emphasis should be on crafting work that reflects their individual perspectives, not merely relying on AI-generated content. Let them know that, over time, this effort will lead to work they can truly be proud of.

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Reflection on AI Use

AI is becoming increasingly prominent in education, industry, and daily life. Many are recognizing AI as an assistive technology that supports learning, creativity, and personal growth. While AI offers new opportunities, OIT acknowledges that students and faculty may approach it from different perspectives, including uncertainty or caution.

What we DON’T want is for anyone to feel pressured to use AI or unsafe in expressing concerns about its use.

What we DO want is to create a space where everyone—whether embracing AI fully, cautiously exploring it, or choosing not to use it—feels respected and empowered.

AI can assist in brainstorming, organizing ideas, reducing writer’s block, supporting neurodiverse needs, and enhancing accessibility. It is a tool to complement—not replace—your voice and contributions.

We are committed to fostering trust, care, and open dialogue throughout this journey. If at any point AI feels like a barrier rather than a tool, please reach out so we can accommodate your needs and ensure you feel supported. We prioritize relationships and authentic learning above all, and we are dedicated to correcting missteps and ensuring AI is used in ways that enhance—not hinder—your growth and well-being.