In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping education, a recent experience has shown how students and professors can work together to harness AI’s potential in the classroom. The success story comes from our pharmacy school where first-year on-campus and on-line biochemistry students got an AI-powered study buddy – with their professor’s seal of approval.
The innovative approach was simple but effective: The professor fed lecture slides into Claude AI, which generated practice questions for students to test their knowledge. But here’s the twist – instead of just throwing AI-generated content at students, the professor carefully reviewed each question set, weeding out any errors or irrelevant material. Student representatives from the on-line learning cohort then jumped in to transform these questions into interactive quizzes using Microsoft Forms. At the end of the trial period, all students were given a voluntary anonymous survey to assess their perceptions of usefulness, risks, and benefits of using the generative AI study tools.
The results? Out of 54 students enrolled in the course, 50 participated in the study, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. A whopping 94% of students used the AI-generated question sets, with most coming back for multiple study sessions. The numbers speak volumes: each question set was accessed between 67 and 106 times, with students spending an average of 80 minutes per attempt.
What’s particularly impressive is the accuracy of the AI-generated content. Out of 425 questions created, only three contained errors – a testament to both the AI’s capabilities and the importance of faculty oversight. The process was remarkably efficient too, with the professor spending just about 5.6 minutes reviewing and editing each set of questions and the students spending about 5.8 minutes turning the questions into an interactive quiz.
But what did the students really think? The survey results tell a compelling story. Nearly 98% of students agreed that the AI tools helped them better understand the course material, and 96% felt it enhanced their learning experience. Perhaps most tellingly, 89% said they’d recommend AI study tools to their fellow students.
However, there’s an interesting catch: while students embraced the technology, they still valued their professor’s involvement. About 70% agreed that faculty review of AI-generated material was important, though only 15% expressed concerns about using AI for studying.
The few students who opted not to use the AI tools didn’t cite trust issues – they simply preferred traditional study methods or felt confident enough with their existing notes. As one student put it, they “just like to hand write everything” to help with memorization.
In the process of running the collaboration, the professor was able to discuss the safe and appropriate use of generative AI with the class. It provided a forum to teach students about the pitfalls and cautions of using AI, such as the incorrect questions found, as well as highlighted how students can safely use AI to augment their learning, specifically through involving faculty or other professionals. Previously, the students who were using AI were doing so without faculty knowledge and through this experience they were able to see the utility of having oversight and feedback when using AI.
This type of student-faculty collaboration could be a game-changer for how educational institutions approach AI integration. It demonstrates that when faculty and students partner to implement AI tools thoughtfully, the results can be both practical and powerful. The best part? The entire setup used free, widely available platforms, making it a model that other institutions could easily adopt.
In the ongoing debate about AI in education, this model offers a refreshing middle ground – showing how AI can enhance learning while maintaining academic integrity through faculty oversight. For the on-line classroom and beyond, it might just be the prescription needed for successful AI integration in higher education.
Student Feedback
“Love that the professor looked over the questions before releasing the set to us. I would not use this on my own without professor guidance”.
“I think my professor had done a great job in providing us with perfect quiz question through GAI after reviewing”.
“It is important that a professor or a person who is well-versed with the subject must go through the quiz question that the GAI generates”.
“I really love them, they were honestly so helpful and I wished every class did them!”
