The words and metaphors we choose to describe our interactions with artificial intelligence are telling.

Do we view it as a stochastic parrot? A thought partner? A form of co-intelligence? A sycophantic assistant? Each of these phrases reflects a different set of beliefs and attitudes and likely shapes our engagement with AI.

How instructors talk about the technology’s relationship to their teaching goals can be just as revealing. To say we want students to develop AI fluency, for example, means we expect sustained engagement with it. Labelling a course or an assignment as AI-resistant suggests a different orientation.

But what do we lose when the conversation becomes a strict either/or proposition?

Annette Vee is one of the authors of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching, a new book that presents another way to frame our relationship with AI as educators. She talks with us about all things AI and college teaching and why she believes the concept of AI awareness can make space for a wide spectrum of views and practices.

Key Topics Discussed:

The origins of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching and its focus on leading with pedagogy rather than starting from a position that is either AI-engaged or AI-resistant
How widespread concerns about AI have actually benefited the conversation around teaching by making it more prominent and mainstream
The importance of considering all manner of perspectives about AI, from faculty and students alike, and why that led Annette and her coauthors to choose the term “AI-aware”
Areas where she sees students potentially benefitting from using AI—and why it’s NOT at the brainstorming stage
Two of Annette’s favorite AI-aware teaching practices from the book, including an assignment that asks students to “do something impossible with AI”
Why tending to student motivation for learning may be more important than ever

Guest Bio: Annette Vee is an associate professor of English and faculty liaison for AI enablement at the University of Pittsburgh, where in addition to facilitating research and faculty development on AI, she teaches courses in writing, pedagogy, digital composition, AI, and literacy. Outside of Pitt, she gives keynotes and workshops related to AI. She is the coauthor of The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching with Marc Watkins and Derek Bruff.

Resources Mentioned:

Book: The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching (W. W. Norton & Company)
Annette’s Substacks: Computation & Writing and AI & How We Teach
Designed for Learning episode with Derek Bruff: Teaching Students When (Not) to Use AI
Article: What Happened When I Tried to Replace Myself with ChatGPT in My English Classroom (Piers Gelly, University of Virginia)
Assignment: Do Something Impossible with AI (Kiera Allison, University of Virginia)
Episode Transcript

Designed for Learning is hosted by Jim Lang, a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence and the author of several influential books on teaching. The podcast is produced by Notre Dame Learning’s Office of Digital Learning. For more, visit learning.nd.edu/podcast. You can also follow Notre Dame Learning on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.