Description
This project pilots structured approaches for integrating generative AI (GenAI) into collaborative coursework at the Stratford School to advance student learning through reflection, critique, and role-based group work. Across higher education, students often use GenAI superficially, pasting prompts for quick outputs that bypass critical thinking. Such unstructured use reduces opportunities for reflection and reinforces surface-level engagement (Ghosh & Raj, 2024). Use is also uneven, with “super-users” dominating while others remain passive (Hellas et al., 2024), and interactions often defaulting to minimal participation or AI dominance (Zhu et al., 2024). Without scaffolding, students risk treating GenAI as an answer box rather than a tool for dialogue and exploration.
At Stratford, we already integrate GenAI into design and business courses, encouraging creativity and critique rather than shortcutting. However, we lack systematic evidence of effectiveness or resources to share with colleagues. This project addresses that gap by formalizing our practices and evaluating outcomes. Expected benefits include transferable skills in prompt engineering, critical reflection, equitable collaboration, and AI literacy—competencies increasingly required in professional contexts. Students will also practice critiquing outputs for bias, reliability, and applicability, strengthening academic and workplace readiness.
The project will be implemented in two GBDA courses enrolling 120–150 students. Unlike current methods, which provide only general guidance on “responsible use,” our approach embeds GenAI into group structures through rotating roles such as prompt creation, verification, critique, and integration. Treating GenAI as a shared object of collaboration distributes responsibility, prevents dominance by confident users, and exposes all students to multiple dimensions of GenAI teamwork.