Fostering Deep Learning and Motivation in the AI Era

As generative artificial intelligence (genAI) reshapes the educational landscape, faculty must rethink traditional assessment strategies to maintain academic integrity and real-world relevance. This piece explores strategies for creating effective assessments in an AI-mediated world, focusing on two key areas: collaborative activities that develop essential human skills, and formative assessments that emphasize personal growth and deep learning. These approaches not only address concerns about AI misuse but also prepare students for future workplaces where human capabilities will complement AI tools.

The ability to work effectively with others and communicate will become increasingly essential in an AI-enhanced future (Westfall, 2024). As such, designing assignments that emphasize collaboration and communication can be an effective strategy for educators. These types of assessments not only help students develop crucial interpersonal skills but also mirror the collaborative nature of many professional environments (Bearman & Ajjawi, 2023).

Group projects are an excellent way to foster teamwork and encourage the ethical use of AI tools. When structuring group assignments, it's important to ensure that each member has a clear role and is required to participate fully. This approach not only promotes active learning but also helps deter academic misconduct, as students are less likely to cheat when working closely with peers (Hauff & Nilsson, 2022). Groups can productively incorporate genAI into their collaborative process by using it to generate project timelines, create meeting agendas, brainstorm potential solutions, or summarize team discussions. Students might also practice using AI as they would in a professional setting—documenting their prompts, evaluating AI suggestions as a team, and making collective decisions about which AI-generated content to keep, modify, or discard.

Incorporating peer review and feedback into assignments can further enhance collaborative learning, with AI tools offering new possibilities for this process. Students can use genAI to help analyze peer work and generate initial feedback, which they then critically evaluate and refine before sharing with classmates. For example, students might use AI to identify potential areas for improvement in a peer's draft and then develop their own specific, constructive suggestions. By evaluating both their peers' work and AI-generated feedback, students can develop critical thinking skills while learning to provide thoughtful commentary. This dual-review process encourages deeper self-reflection as students consider both human and AI perspectives on academic work. To implement peer review effectively, educators should provide clear guidelines and rubrics that address both traditional assessment criteria and the appropriate use of AI in the review process (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). Students might also be asked to reflect on differences between AI-generated and human feedback, helping them understand the unique value of peer perspectives.

Discussion-based assignments, interviews, debates, and oral presentations offer other avenues for assessing communication skills and critical thinking in an AI-mediated environment (Ogunleye et al., 2024). These formats can require students to articulate and defend their positions, demonstrating their ability to synthesize information and respond to questions in real time (Rudolph & Tan, 2022). For example, consider asking students to work in pairs to produce a podcast episode or simulate a mock interview for a job requiring demonstration of course competencies. To enhance these activities, students can use genAI strategically: researching opposing viewpoints for debates, generating practice interview questions, creating discussion prompts, or even having AI virtual avatars serve as conversational partners. The key is to use AI as a preparation tool while maintaining the authenticity of real-time communication and critical thinking during the actual assignments.

Presentations can take various forms, including real-time virtual presentations or recordings, allowing flexibility for different learning preferences and situations. For example, consider having students deliver a TED-style talk on a topic of their choice, emphasizing innovation, creativity, and the presentation of novel ideas to an audience. Providing alternative ways for students to represent their knowledge beyond text is a valuable pedagogical strategy and aligns with Universal Design for Learning best practices (Moorhouse et al., 2023). Students can leverage genAI throughout the presentation development process—using it to brainstorm engaging topics, research speaking techniques, help structure their talks, assist with slide design, or even practice their delivery by having AI simulate different audience types and generate potential questions.

Video reflections serve as a powerful complement to traditional assessments in the age of AI, requiring students to articulate their learning journey and demonstrate authentic understanding (Bergman, 2024). In these recordings, students might explain their thought process, describe challenges they encountered, and reflect on how they integrated AI tools (if permitted) into their work process. These personal narratives are particularly valuable in asynchronous courses, helping instructors better understand their students' growth while building a stronger sense of community in the virtual classroom. Beyond promoting authenticity and deterring AI misuse, video reflections help students develop crucial communication skills they'll need in their professional lives, including the ability to clearly explain complex ideas and present themselves professionally on camera (Cheng & Chau, 2009).

With the concerns around genAI and academic integrity, formative assessments play a crucial role in promoting deep learning and developing students' metacognitive skills (Tenakwah et al., 2023). By shifting the focus from grades to the process of learning, educators can create opportunities for growth, self-reflection, and personalized learning experiences that meaningfully incorporate AI tools.

Formative assessments should prioritize the learning process rather than just the final product (Smolansky et al., 2023). For example, instructors can demonstrate how AI can support—rather than replace—original writing, coding, or creativity, while emphasizing the importance of developing one's own voice and ideas. This approach encourages students to view assessments as opportunities for growth and career preparation, learning to collaborate with AI tools as they would in professional settings (Richardson, 2023). By focusing on the process and thoughtful AI integration, students are more likely to engage deeply with the material rather than use AI to bypass learning (Moorhouse et al., 2023).

Formative assessments help identify areas where students need improvement and support continuous learning (Black & Wiliam, 2009; Zaylea & Alquarshi, 2023). AI can enhance this process by providing immediate feedback, suggesting personalized learning paths, and helping students identify knowledge gaps. Beyond evaluating student learning, formative assessments can boost students' self-assurance by helping them develop both traditional competencies and AI literacy skills needed for course objectives (Angelo & Cross, 1993). Digital tools, including AI, can help instructors highlight areas of success, identify students needing additional support, and suggest teaching method adjustments, creating a more responsive and adaptive learning environment.

Implementing frequent, low-stakes assessments throughout the course can reduce the temptation to cheat on high-stakes assessments while providing continuous feedback. Examples include weekly quizzes (with multiple attempts) to gauge understanding of recent topics (Warnock, 2013), short writing assignments on current topics related to course content, and student-generated questions to assess their understanding and identify areas of confusion (Rouder, 2023a). Such assignments promote active engagement with course material, provide valuable feedback, and help students develop confidence in their abilities while learning to work alongside AI tools.

Strategies to emphasize the learning process include requiring students to submit drafts, notes, or journals of their learning processes, breaking larger assignments into smaller, scaffolded tasks, and implementing more iterative processes, such as peer review and revisions (Moorhouse et al., 2023). Rather than using AI to bypass critical thinking, encourage students to leverage it for technical tasks like citation formatting, initial research on new topics, historical perspective-taking, and writing improvement through feedback loops. For more information, check out OpenAI's Student’s Guide to Writing with ChatGPT, which outlines productive ways to integrate ChatGPT into academic work without compromising learning outcomes. The guide also promotes academic integrity by recommending that students include shareable ChatGPT conversation links in their citations. Another valuable resource is this example of how a professor uses AI to help students improve their writing by guiding them through a step-by-step process rather than having genAI edit the essay entirely for them.

To foster intrinsic motivation, educators should design assessments and course content that resonate with students' personal interests, career goals, and broader life aspirations. By emphasizing the relevance and long-term value of their learning, students will be more likely to engage deeply with the material, seeing it as personally meaningful rather than just a set of requirements to fulfill (Rudolph et al., 2023). This understanding of the broader context and applicability of their studies can lead to more authentic engagement with course content. Strategies to enhance intrinsic motivation include creating assignments that allow students to explore topics they find genuinely engaging (McMurtrie, 2022) and explicitly connecting course material to students' future professional and personal development (Dawson, 2023). For example, faculty can create interactive role-play assignments using AI mentors that customize scenarios and feedback based on a student's experience level and professional aspirations, as described in this guide: How to Use AI to Create Role-Play Scenarios for Your Students.

Incorporating personalization and student choice into formative assessments can significantly increase engagement and motivation while making AI misuse less tempting. When students develop their own assessment topics and incorporate personal experiences into their work, they create unique assignments that are more meaningful (Rudolph et al., 2023). AI tools can enhance this personalization: instructors can use genAI to create assessments with unique parameters for each student (Keppell, 2014), develop adaptive learning systems that adjust teaching methods based on individual progress (Kakon et al., 2024; Li et al., 2024), and generate customized study materials like concept maps, flashcards, and practice quizzes tailored to each student's needs. Combining student-directed personalization with AI-enhanced learning support can create a more engaging and effective educational experience.

To further enhance this personalized experience, require metacognitive reflection, which helps students develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of how they learn. Reflection can also help students understand how to integrate AI into their learning processes ethically and effectively. In particular, consider implementing exam wrappers, which prompt students to reflect on their preparation and performance (Lovett, 2013; Rouder, 2023b). You can also ask students to maintain reflective journals documenting their learning experiences, challenges, and progress across a course or program.

Effective assessment in the AI era requires a thoughtful balance between leveraging technology and developing essential human skills. By emphasizing collaboration, oral communication, ongoing feedback, and personalized learning experiences, educators can create assessments that remain meaningful and resistant to AI-enabled shortcuts. These approaches not only address immediate concerns about academic integrity but also help students develop AI literacy and prepare them for future professional environments where human capabilities like teamwork, communication, and critical thinking will be increasingly valuable.

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