From digitizing VHS tapes to working with generative artificial intelligence, Sonia Chaidez’s work as Whittier College’s senior instructional technologist has rapidly evolved. To keep faculty and students ahead of the curve as AI reshapes the landscape of so many industries, Chaidez has implemented a new AI-focused plan with the College’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
She sees AI as a tool that can be equally helpful or harmful and has conducted workshops to foster a better understanding of AI in the classroom. Chaidez strives to both assuage fears and teach professors how to spot when a student’s paper was authored by software like ChatGPT.
“It’s been exciting for me because I feel like we’re in an age of discovery,” Chaidez said. “We’re exploring AI technologies, but we’re exploring them to drive innovation and improve the learning experience for students. … I like the idea of it democratizing access to help our students get better at problem-solving, learning to be researchers that find solutions to the world’s problems.”
English Professor Tony Barnstone said shortcuts have been around for years in various forms. Like Chaidez, he views AI as a double-edged sword, much like atomic energy — its impact depends on how we choose to use it.
“You can use it effectively in such a way as to power cities, or you can use it to destroy cities and kill 100,000 people in an instant,” Barnstone said. “AI is similar. You can use it to keep you from thinking, or you can use it to enhance your thinking.”
Chaidez knows there is a fear that AI will replace original composition skills, but she views such capabilities as an opportunity to expand student learning in new and unexpected ways. For example, AI could function as a tutor by generating study guides, or help students practice and refine their language skills. Certain projects and assignments could also be supplemented with AI tools, provided there is transparency about how AI is involved.
“Our students come here for the very high touch, personal knowledge that they can build on,” Chaidez said. “We can use AI tools to continue enhancing this.”
Of course, like any other new frontier, there is a learning curve. To improve AI literacy, Chaidez treats the workshops like a course on information or media literacy. She starts by teaching faculty the basic vocabulary — such as defining large language models and chatbots — before delving into how people can engineer prompts to get the desired responses. From there, her lessons might discuss misinformation, ethics, privacy, and academic integrity.
“AI makes mistakes,” Chaidez said. “Just because it told you so doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Some faculty have wholeheartedly embraced AI in the classroom, while others have been more hesitant. English Professor Jonathan Burton instructed his students to use the software as a brainstorming partner, assigning them to submit a transcript of a conversation they had with an AI program of their choice about ideas for rewriting Macbeth.
“Many of the students were apprehensive about the assignment, indicating that they had become convinced that using AI is invariably some form of cheating,” Burton said. “But their concluding evaluations — characterized by measured excitement and insights into both the strengths and weaknesses of AI writing — indicated that the exercise was truly eye-opening for them.”
Chaidez plans to host more workshops in the future, perhaps even a symposium on how faculty use AI to help students learn, to showcase projects, and to establish internship programs for students looking to advance their skills and expertise with AI.