Date
Publisher
arXiv
While generative AI tools are directly changing how undergraduate computer science is learned and taught, they are also reshaping the relationships between instructors and students. In contrast to existing tool-oriented research on how instructors view and adopt AI, this study investigates how instructors think about their roles and responsibilities to students through their course AI policies. Based on 13 semi-structured interviews with CS instructors in the US, we found that while instructors recognize that AI tools could harm student learning, AI policies primarily seek to AI-proof assessments without directly addressing student learning. Although policies such as switching to paper exams can preserve assessment integrity in the short term, instructors report extra burden of policing student AI use behaviors and worsening relationships with students. Based on the experiences of several interviewees, we make recommendations on AI policies that are more learning-oriented and could guide students toward healthier AI usage instead.
Study at a glance
- Question: How do higher education computer science instructors design, enforce, and explain their course generative AI policies?
- Setting and data: Nine higher education institutions across the United States, 13 undergraduate computer science instructors teaching introductory through advanced elective courses.
- Method: Semi-structured interviews analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Why it matters
Generative AI reshapes computer science classrooms, yet little is known about how instructors design and enforce course policies or view their roles and responsibilities to students in light of these tools.
Key findings
- Instructors reported that generative AI misuse harms student learning through cognitive offloading, an illusion of competence, and social isolation, while also undermining instructors' ability to evaluate student work.
- Most instructors reacted by trying to AI-proof assessments, such as switching to pen-and-paper exams or making exam passing mandatory, despite acknowledging these approaches can hinder student learning.
- Facing heavy burdens and enforcement difficulties when policing AI, many instructors increasingly placed the responsibility of regulating AI use on students themselves.
Summary drafted with AI from the full paper and may contain errors. See the full paper for details.
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