Faculty Question/Conversation Starters
List of questions that may help explore the learning process with a student if you suspect they used AI in their work. For this approach to be effective, you will need to have a conversation with the student directly via a phone call and/or video call (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc).
- Can you walk me through your process as a whole or around this portion of the work?
- What did you learn about this process that you would want others to know or try?
- Can you elaborate on how you developed your thesis statement/main ideas/central theme?
- Which part of the paper did you find most challenging to write, and how did you overcome it?
- What part of the writing process did you enjoy the most, and why?
- Can you discuss a specific argument or point in your paper that you feel particularly passionate or proud about?
- How did writing this paper change or reinforce your views on the topic?
- How did you end up deciding about [this point]?
- Why did you find it valuable to include [this point] in the work?
- How did you organize your ideas before writing?
- What was your strategy for integrating sources into your work?
- What source(s) did you find most useful or insightful in your work and why?
- Can you describe a particular source that significantly influenced your perspective?
- I know citation styles can be tedious; I know I struggle. How did you ensure your paper adhered to the required citation style?
- How did you approach the revision process for this paper?
- Can you give an example of a change you made during revision and explain why you made it?
- What feedback did you receive from peers or instructors, and how did you incorporate it?
- What new skills or knowledge did you gain from this assignment?
- Can you explain the connection between this paper and what we’ve discussed in class?
- If you had more time to work on this paper, what additional research or revisions would you consider?
- If you were to build upon this work, what might be the next question that you tackle?
- This seems distinct from other work, can you walk me through your process?
- Your writing in these were quite distinct from what you’ve written before. I’m curious to know what was different this time, both to understand your process and to see what content in the course helped you get here.
Questions/Conversation Starters to Explore Student AI Usage
Perhaps you’ve had a student admit to using AI in their work. While that is helpful to know, digging deeper into the why may be illuminating. These questions are starters to help explore the reasoning behind their AI usage.
- Were there any time constraints or external pressures that influenced your decision to use AI?
- How do you usually handle challenging assignments or tasks without using AI?
- What support systems or resources do you currently use for your studies?
- At what point did you decide to use AI?
- Why did you turn to AI and not a peer or the instructor?
- Did you try any other resources or strategies before using AI? If so, what were they and why did they not work for you?
- Can you describe how you approached the assignment before deciding to use AI?
- Why was this assignment different to lead you to AI?
- What was going on in your head when you did?
- What specific aspects of the assignment did you feel least confident about?
- What would have empowered you to move through the struggle?
- How do you think using AI impacted your understanding of the assignment’s content?
- What benefits do you think AI provided that you couldn’t find elsewhere?
- What did you learn by using AI? How do you perceive the role of AI in your learning process?
- What might you be missing or not able to do as a result of using AI?
- If given the opportunity to redo the assignment without AI, what would you do differently?
- What feedback or guidance do you think would be most helpful from instructors regarding the use of AI in assignments like this?
Would you like to contribute to this list? Please email us at FacDev@ecampus.usg.edu
How to: Share TurnItIn Report with Students
Source: Adapted from Lance Eaton, “AI Plagiarism Considerations Part 2: When Students Use AI”