Thoughtful integration, ethical use at core of AI literacy  

Preparing students for a workforce rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront for Penn State.

Professors at three of the University's western campuses, for example — Beaver, Behrend and Greater Allegheny — are focusing not only on teaching students how to use AI, but on teaching AI literacy that incorporates ethical and critical use of the emerging technology.

Initiatives at the campuses align with the Penn State’s strategic goals around AI to meet the evolving needs of a changing world. There is a shared goal to teach the use of AI while preserving academic integrity and ensuring learning outcomes; professors aren’t viewing AI as a replacement for learning, but a career skill.

Penn State Beaver

Ashu Kumar, assistant teaching professor of information technology, said that because AI is new technology, students are getting information from different sources, and they can get overwhelmed. So he embeds one lesson in every course dedicated to getting students comfortable with AI, he said.

“They learn the basics between AI and generative AI. They get to work on generative AI tools and learn prompting,” he said.

Impressing upon students the need for AI as a career skill is important, Kumar said.

“Everybody can Google. When you are searching you are at the same skill level as every other person,” he said. “When you’re using AI, if you do not have the skills to ask questions the right way through prompting ... it makes a big difference in results. If you can’t efficiently use the tools, you are at a disadvantage, even if you have access to it.”

Kumar also leads small working groups on AI for faculty and staff that focus on teaching the basics of AI along with how it can be incorporated into daily work. Kumar’s student intern met with staff members individually to learn more about their workflows and made suggestions about how individuals can implement AI.

Penn State Behrend

Kyle Chalupczynski, assistant teaching professor of management information systems at Behrend, said the campus created an ad hoc task force with representation from different departments, including faculty and staff, to promote AI literacy and define what that looks like.

“We came up with literacy profiles for staff, faculty and students and then started working backwards to determine what we need to have in place to meet that criteria,” Chalupczynski said.

“There is a healthy amount of AI integration into courses. Twenty-five business courses have integrated AI in some way,” he added. “We are identifying gaps. We’ve started workshops to show faculty how to use AI responsibly and ethically. We’re looking for best approaches and barriers.”

Chalupczynski said the workshops have been well-attended, and the hope is that a faculty member who might feel hesitant about incorporating AI will see others using it and be inspired.

Behrend has added two AI certificates students can earn, "Building Artificial Intelligence" and "Artificial Intelligence and Society." Chalupczynski said the campus also has an AI Pathways program that spans two semesters and includes speakers and micro exercises.

Chalupczynski said at first, he didn’t know what to do about AI integration into his classes, so he “went into discovery mode. I allowed students to use it, but they had to give me an appendix about how they used it. I had access to the chat to see how they used it.”

Through that discovery process he learned students weren’t questioning, digging deeper or challenging AI results.

“I realized they had to be taught how to engage,” he said, adding that part of his grading rubric now assesses how well students engage with chatbots.

“Engagement with AI over the last two semesters has gotten a lot better,” he said. “I’m seeing fewer two-and three-word answers. Students are actually thinking on the page in their conversation with AI.”

Penn State Greater Allegheny

Allain Daigle, an instructional designer at the Greater Allegheny campus and Penn State Fayette, said AI literacy has been incorporated into their First-Year Seminar to give students some early connection and exposure to AI.

Faculty in various disciplines including criminal justice, integrative arts, information systems technology and cybersecurity have incorporated AI into their coursework. Lori Hepner, a professor of integrative arts, is teaching students how to create and learn with AI, Daigle said.

“We’re starting to have courses dealing with this in a very explicit way that includes exploring and experimenting,” he said.

Daigle said faculty want students to become critical thinkers regarding how and when to use the technology.

“We have really thoughtful faculty members who see AI affecting education, and we want students to have the foundations necessary to use these tools effectively and responsibly,” Daigle said.

"To encourage AI exploration, Greater Allegheny has been sponsoring monthly ‘AI du Jour’ workshops that bring faculty, staff and students into a shared conversation about AI," he said.

“Students have nuanced and critical approaches to AI. They’re really insightful and thoughtful, and care about how this is going to fit into their learning. They don’t want it to replace their learning. What they value and what they want is human connection in their learning.”

Penn State is shaping the future of higher education in the age of artificial intelligence. Our focus is on human-centered, ethical AI innovation that delivers meaningful impacts for Penn State and the broader community. Through visionary planning, strategic partnerships, targeted hiring and strategic investments, we will equip every Penn State student, staff and faculty member with the AI-related knowledge, experience and confidence they need to succeed in the AI-powered future. Learn more at psu.edu/ai.