Welcome to Teacher’s AIed: the newsletter about AI in the K12 Classroom.

How AI will affect K12 Classrooms is complex. Each week, we curate knowledge for educators about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of AI and K12 education.

In this edition, we kick off a new series addressing the "student AI-plagiarism problem."

Understanding the Significance of Preventing AI Misuse in the Classroom

What’s the big issue here?

For better or for worse, assessments are one of the foundations of our education system. The reliability of assessments has always been threatened by plagiarism, but the difficulty of cheating has moderated this effect. One strength of Generative AI is its ease of use, but in the context of plagiarism, that strength only feeds the beast. As cheating becomes easier, less detectable, and, therefore, less risky, the more students will cheat.

How big of an issue is this?

Our sister newsletter, AutomatED, posted on the prevalence of cheating in the higher-ed context. In their article, “How Bad is Academic Dishonesty Today?” they stated, “Around 20 to 40 percent of students are habitual cheaters” and “If it becomes easier to cheat, [students] will.” (AutomatED). AI tools, particularly LLMs such as ChatGPT, make cheating much more effortless. According to a survey by Study.com, about a quarter of teachers have caught students cheating with ChatGPT.

What can I do?

You have three main options. Any one of these does not constitute a complete response to the AI plagiarism problem; instead, we recommend a combination of all three.

1. Approach AI misuse as you would any other misbehavior - with a management plan, ideally of the PBIS flavor: a set of expectations, a reward system, and a consequence structure.

2. Give assessments where students cannot use AI. While an old-fashioned approach might not best prepare students for their AI-enriched future, asking students what they know when they cannot access tech is always viable.

3. Create assessments that allow students to use AI while also disincentivizing plagiarism. These strategies also have their pitfalls, but the harder it is for students to cheat, the less likely they will do so.

Classroom Culture as a Strategy to Prevent AI Misuse

Similar to many other first-year teachers, classroom management was a challenge for me. By my second year of teaching, I had learned about co-setting class norms with my students, restorative practices, and PBIS. While all misbehavior did not magically disappear, our classroom culture began to flourish.

This is a short example of the power of setting and communicating clear expectations with students and supporting students in reaching those expectations. If setting a solid classroom culture works for misbehavior, why can’t it also work for AI misuse? In the next blog post, I’ll share how teachers can leverage classroom culture to disincentivize AI misuse through open and honest conversations about AI and provide a framework for understanding what AI tools are appropriate for their students, depending on their writing level.

The “Tried and True” Method

We have emphasized over and over again that it is crucial that teachers evolve with the times and not rely on narrow-minded strategies such as banning technology. Doing so may leave students ill-prepared for their future endeavors. However, there are situations where conducting AI-less assessments can be beneficial, such as when teaching multiplication facts and reading skills—foundational elements that influence how we learn and think.

When should teachers rely on paper-and-pencil or oral assessments to ensure students are truly learning?

Furthermore, students cannot use AI in this condition - that doesn’t mean teachers cannot! Are there ways teachers can leverage AI to assess student work produced without technology?

Use AI - I dare you…it won’t help (hopefully)

Lastly, I’ll tackle what an AI-immune assignment looks like when students can use AI themselves. These assessments will aim to disincentivize plagiarism while still incentivizing authentic learning and proper use of AI. These strategies will fall into two categories: immunity derived from the format of the assessment and immunity derived from the content of the assessment.

We’ll see that these strategies are not as AI-immune as those covered in the previous article. Students can still use AI to help them in some way or another. But, with the right expectations and incentives, teachers can rest assured that their assessment is still gauging what students know, not what ChatGPT knows.

“Ready, Set, Plagiarise”…wait, no, “Go!”

In this series, we will explore strategies to combat AI misuse in the K-12 classroom, from setting clear expectations to leveraging AI for enriching learning experiences.

All educators should prioritize preventing AI misuse in the classroom and foster a culture of responsible AI use among students. Join us as we continue to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of AI in K-12 education.