GenAI in teaching and learning toolkit: the least you need to know as educators
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The following suggestions are designed to help instructors create clearer, effective guidelines for AI use. These suggestions are based on CTLI's AI Guidance (coming soon) and are aligned with best practice in the field of education.
By initiating a conversation about AI with your students, you are creating space for a constructive dialogue that encourages transparency to address questions and concerns. It is important to discuss:
Your students may already be familiar with and use AI tools regularly, and have questions, concerns, or opinions of their own. Have an open conversation with them about AI the implications of its use in their academic work. Share your thoughts on AI and invite them to do the same: What do they know? What potential opportunities and challenges do they see? Can you reach a shared expectation or mutual understanding of AI usage for your course?
Share the Concerns About AI Generated Content page to understand AI's shortcomings. Consider spending a few minutes discussing this resource together or suggesting students review it on their own.
Your students may not understand the relationship between AI use and academic integrity. Talk to them about how AI works, what constitutes academic integrity, and what concerns you might have with AI. Clearly explain your permissions toward AI use:
The syllabus is the main source students look at when seeking direction for course expectations, including when it comes to AI. You can clarify your expectations and avoid any confusion or ambiguity by clearly describing if, how, and when students can use AI or generative AI tools.
Note: guidance on AI statements in your syllabus coming soon from CTLI.
Being familiar with AI tools will allow you to expand your own knowledge on its uses, creations, and appropriateness for your course. Trying out AI tools for yourself also helps you understand how your students might be using them and why. Check out the "Resources on Using AI and the Classroom" on this page to help familiarize yourself with common GenAI tools, their purposes, and their limitations.
When using AI tools, you and your students must remember to acknowledge where and how you've used AI in your work. Quotes and paraphrased information must be cited in APA Style.
See the Citing AI page for examples.
Students use GenAI tools for a variety of tasks. In February 2025 UBC polled students at both of its campuses to learn how, when, and why they use GenAI.
They found that Students commonly use GenAI to:
UBC also found that students do not use GenAI tools evenly. Some students use AI tools daily, while others use it less than once a week or never.
It’s important to remember that not all of your students may be using or even be comfortable with GenAI tools. As noted in UBC’s (2025) study, students have a variety of reasons and uses for GenAI. Understanding how and why students use GenAI can help you clarify your expectations and how your students may find GenAI useful in your courses.
Unless otherwise noted, this guide is licensed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License).
Information on this page was adapted from Mount Royal University Library's Artificial Intelligence page, which is licensed under aCC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.