AI Around Campus

AI is becoming more and more prevalent every day. Thus, The News compared the similarities and differences of AI policies across academic departments. While all departments support AI as a tool that can be utilized as a learning supplement, there are, of course, limitations and regulations. 

Starting with the Art department, Mr. Connolly adopted a different but sensible approach. Mr. Connolly encourages his students to employ AI in a way that helps students broaden their scope on where they can take their ideas. Traditionally, students will often fixate on the first thing that comes into their mind, and AI is a good tool to help steer kids towards a broader set of ideas. Mr. Connolly explained, “It can help prompt them toward directions - solutions they might not have thought of.” On the other hand, AI cannot be copied, and it cannot be used to create pictures for students. In essence, it can be used as a brainstorming tool, but not for generating work. Luckily, the Art department has run into no issues with AI yet.

In the math department, most teachers assign homework as a completion grade. Thus, when working on homework, utilizing AI to help understand questions is allowed, as long as students understand the work afterwards and are learning from what the AI tool is teaching. Where students start to run into issues is when they simply copy the work without taking the time to understand the material. Ms. Laura Soden explained, “An issue can be when students learn to do something that they can never replicate - that’s where I think AI goes wrong in the learning setting.” As for the unacceptable use of AI, any graded assignment given as a closed-book assignment during class or at home is expected to be completed without any generative model. If students are caught using AI on a test or quiz, for example, they will have a conversation with their teacher and an honor council representative about honor. On a second offense, the student will have to meet with the honor council. So while using AI on formal assessments is not permitted in the Math department, students may use it to explain concepts and generate practice questions, as long as they understand the work. 

In the science department, many of the rules and suggestions mirror the math department. If students are caught cheating on in-class assignments, they will have a conversation with the teacher and a faculty honor representative about honor. However, for homework and studying, Mr. Alex Deweese ‘11, a faculty advisor on the Honor Council and Chemistry teacher, suggested that students employ AI to help their learning. One interesting way Mr. Deweese advised students to use AI is to have the model create practice questions for them, a sentiment that Ms. Soden also supported as a good application of AI. Mr. Deweese explained that there are limits to this method, saying, “The problem comes when kids don’t give it good prompts. When students use it as a study tool, AI can yield easy questions.” Once again, AI can be used as a tool for practice, but it is heavily monitored for formal assessments and in-class assignments. Mr. Deweese said the science department has run into no issues with AI yet this year.

Regarding the history department, the AI policy tends to orient students to completing their own work, as using AI on topics that they themselves are not knowledgeable about can lead to inaccuracies. When asked about the History department's view on students using AI, Making Modern Europe and AP Art History teacher Ms. Suzanne Finnerty explained that AI can be both helpful or harmful, and it all depends on the nature of the assignment and what the student is trying to accomplish while using AI. She was later asked how, or if, AI can be used on homework and stated, “I am very clear on how and what AI can be used for every assignment,” encouraging everyone in the department to do the same. Ms. Finnerty also believes that since students have not mastered the material they are asking AI about, they cannot discern whether the AI is correct or not, which is another reason she motivates students to do work on their own. If students are caught using AI, the severity of the punishment will be determined by how heavily AI was relied upon, the magnitude of the assignment, and the discretion of the teacher and honor council faculty.

Contrary to other departments, the English department tries to steer completely clear of AI. English teacher Ms. Beth Knapp, member of the AI committee at Gilman, said, "I'm a pretty big skeptic, and I'm not someone who's really excited about diving into that world.” Although Ms. Knapp believes that there is almost no reason to use AI in an English class, with one of the few acceptable reasons being for organizational purposes. Due to this belief of hers alongside conversations with fellow faculty members, Mrs. Knapp has decided to ban the usage of AI in the English department unless explicitly instructed otherwise. While AI can be used to productively brainstorm, the English department generally tries to stay clear, given its dangerous ability to write portions of essays and papers. Once again, using AI for even a small portion of a paper will result in a conversation with a teacher and faculty honor council representative.  

Finally, the Modern Language department strictly enforces its no-AI policy, with a requirement that all translations go through the website WordReference, which is a single word translator. Although the Modern Language department does not allow AI on assignments, Ms. Lincoln, head of the Honor Council and a teacher in the department, believes that AI can be used to create study guides or practice problems. Ms. Lincoln also explained the reason AI usage is very limited, remarking, “We want students to be completely composing [on their own], doing their writing, doing their speaking with the language that’s in their head.” If a student is caught using AI incorrectly, they will have to re-do the test fully, with the maximum grade they can achieve being a 70. They will also have to meet with their teacher and an honor council representative, or with the honor council on a second offense.

In summary, in a world growing increasingly reliant on AI, it is impractical to avoid the reality that it will become a part of learning at Gilman. Departments have noticed this, and they are working to incorporate AI while simultaneously ensuring that students master the material and do their own work. Thus far, it seems the trend has been to allow students to use AI to brainstorm, generate practice questions, or learn more about a concept, but it has been strictly monitored when it comes to formal assignments that are being turned in for a grade. With all this being said, The News is excited to see the role AI takes in learning as models continue to develop and new opportunities open doors that were previously closed. As the AI question develops, it is important that students continue to develop their creative thinking skills and create their own work, using AI only in cases where it is allowed and approved by their teacher.