To use generative AI to prepare students for future careers in business, a professor uses AI tools to create an active learning classroom model that requires teamwork and project thinking. did.
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As more companies integrate technology capabilities into the workplace, employers are increasingly indicating a need to train students in generative artificial intelligence tools.
Some instructors are implementing AI into their classes to demonstrate rapid engineering and showcase AI’s research and writing abilities. Mark Rucker, professor of entrepreneurship at Miami University in Ohio, encourages students to use generative AI tools to complete projects and spark career-ready creative and critical thinking skills. .
According to research
According to the Spring 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab, 31% of students say they know how to use generative AI to help their classes because their professor told them about it. , found that slightly fewer students introduced AI policy in class. Professor’s syllabus.
According to June survey data from Pearson, more than half of college students use tools to improve their grades and become more effective in class.
How it works: The topic of generative AI in the workplace became very clear to Rucker this summer, by talking to employers, speaking to students in internships, and reading recent research.
So on the first day of class, Mr. Rucker told his students what he had learned. We know that the majority of graduates wish they had been taught AI, that companies are actively investing in AI tools, and that if they don’t ride AI, the train will leave the station without them. The students readily agreed, he says.
The rapid evolution of AI has shown Rucker that it’s not enough to just teach students how to use tools, it’s enough to teach them how to use these tools while learning. “It has to be built into the workflow,” he explains.
This course covers startup marketing and finance and is a 200-level course taken primarily by first-semester sophomores representing a variety of majors and disciplines.
Rucker considers his course akin to an internship. Mr. Rucker serves as a supervisor and the students act as interns, receiving and submitting project requests. In each class, students are assigned to work with small groups of their peers to solve problems using AI.
One example is developing a better understanding of what a landing page is, how to create one, when it’s useful, and best practices. Students are assigned an immediate strategy to implement, receive results from, and continue to refine until they achieve their goals.
From there, one group is randomly selected each week to present their research results for about five minutes, demonstrating their learning to their peers and showcasing their thinking.
Progress: This course is still in the pilot phase and students are halfway through the semester. “I told them, ‘You guys are guinea pigs,'” Rucker jokes. Although he considers it experimental, the class has met and exceeded many of Rucker’s expectations.
One unintended consequence of the new course is that Mr. Rucker no longer teaches with slide decks, as students teach and learn from each other.
A short presentation at the beginning of the class often prompts new questions and follow-ups, some of which are answered by colleagues, while others are handled by Rucker. The environment is changing to be more active and proactive, which he believes is a better reflection of workplaces and high-functioning teams.
What’s next? The most important goal is to help students quickly adapt to any workplace, whether it’s an internship or a post-graduation role, making them competitive applicants and effective workers. That’s how you prepare.
When students return from fall break, they will begin learning AI at a more advanced level by creating their own prompting strategies and outlining their own thinking, rather than using the prompting structure created by Larcker. Masu. Rucker grades students based on process and expects deeper thinking and applied learning in new ways.
Three other entrepreneurship faculty members at the University of Miami are also incorporating AI into their courses: two 100-level courses and one 200-level course. This shows Rucker that faculty are embracing AI and learning how to equip students with the career skills they need.
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