Integrating AI Directly Into Student Assignments
Overview
Students receive clear, structured guidance on how to use AI to support their understanding of the assigned reading and to enhance their thinking and writing on the assignment topic.
Why Use This?
Rather than banning AI or broadly permitting its use, this strategy models specific uses aligned with the assignment and encourages ethical, low-stakes experimentation with AI. This builds students’ confidence and fluency with AI by giving them clear guidelines for using it professionally and purposefully. By requiring a short reflection on how AI was used, this strategy also promotes academic integrity and self-reflection.
How Does It Work?
An instructional guide titled “How to Use Generative AI in This Assignment” is embedded directly in the assignment. This guide offers specific examples of how students might use tools like ChatGPT or Claude to summarize a reading or identify its key points. At the same time, the guide emphasizes the importance of students’ own analysis and voice. At the end of the assignment, students are asked to include a short paragraph describing how they used AI. This encourages reflection, promotes transparency, and lessens the burden of formal citation.
How to Use Generative AI in This Assignment
YOU CAN USE AI ON THIS ASSIGNMENT!
Here’s how:
Generate Key Insights: Use AI to help identify the most important trends and findings in the PMI Pulse of the Profession 2023 report. You can input key sections of the report into an AI tool and ask it to summarize the main points, such as key project management trends, skills required, or talent gaps. This can help you focus your summary on the most relevant and impactful information.
Instructions:
Review the PMI Pulse of the Profession 2023 report carefully.
Use AI to generate a concise summary of the report’s main findings and trends. You might input the introduction or key sections into the AI tool and ask it to highlight the critical points.
Once you have the AI-generated insights, incorporate them into your memo to ensure your summary is comprehensive and aligns with the report’s core message.
Remember, while AI can help you extract key points, your understanding and perspective should guide how you integrate these insights into your career development discussion.
Provide a final paragraph on how AI was used on the assignment. For example, describe which parts of the report you analyzed with AI, how the tool helped refine your understanding, and how you integrated its output into your work.
NOTE: If you use AI, include a short paragraph that explains how you used generative AI tools to assist with this assignment at the end of your memo.
Keep In Mind
- Frame AI as a professional tool that supports, not replaces, student thinking.
- Ask students to reflect on their use of AI to promote transparency and ethical awareness.
- Provide short, tailored guidance for using AI with any assignment where it could be helpful, such as summarizing resources, brainstorming ideas, or revising written work.