Trinity College Faculty Discuss Use of AI in the Classroom

Iqra Athar ’26

Executive News Editor

Since the introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, Trinity College faculty have been redefining what it means to teach and learn in a changing academic landscape. Through programs such as the AI Pedagogy Fellows and the AI Writing Fellows supported by the Center for Teaching and Learning, Library and Information Technology Services and Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric, faculty are experimenting with assignments, syllabus statements and discussions on academic integrity. The AI Pedagogy Fellowship brings together faculty each semester to share classroom strategies for integrating or questioning AI, while the Writing Fellows program helps faculty redesign writing assignments to emphasize reflection originality and process. The AI Resource Center, led by Director of Digital Learning and Scholarship David Tatem, offers guidance on prompt design, ethical use and syllabus policy. Tatem also highlighted that one underused option is Microsoft Copilot, noting that faculty and staff who log in with their Trinity credentials receive Enterprise Data Protection, which provides paid-level privacy, and that everyone on campus already has access. “It’s all over the map…” Tatem said, “even for a small institution we’re constantly learning things just in passing.”

Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Alexander J. Helberg views AI not as a threat but as an opportunity “to re-reflect on what it is we’re actually teaching.” In his composition courses, he assigns “synthetic papers” and “dialogue-based writing” where students use AI to simulate scholarly debate and then critique its reasoning. They also examine how large language models generate hallucinations, misinformation and bias while learning to identify gaps in automated reasoning. As supervisor of the AI Writing Fellows, Helberg helps faculty use AI to promote critical literacy and deepen rhetorical awareness so students can recognize both the usefulness and the fallibility of machine-generated text.

Among the AI Pedagogy Fellows, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies Arianna J. King and Assistant Professor of History Daniel Said Monteiro each bring distinct approaches. King examines AI through the lens of social systems and policy, guiding students to consider its ethical dimensions in automation, surveillance and labor. Her classes discuss how AI shapes governance and civic participation while raising questions of equity and environmental impact. King emphasizes “critical curiosity” over uncritical adoption and reminds students that technology mirrors the values of those who design and deploy it. Said Monteiro integrates AI assignments into his 300-level seminar. In a conversation with the Tripod, he explained that since last semester he has been employing assignments around writing with and without AI. “It’s a two-step process where students use AI tools to organize their ideas or rephrase things to make them clearer, and then reflect on whether they find it useful.” He explained that the goal is for students to see both the potential and the limitations of chatbots. On AI policy in syllabi, Said Monteiro noted that it is “hard to come out with an overarching policy that covers all the bases” and that flexibility allows exploration. “It’s really up to each faculty how they want to teach and what they want to teach,” he said, adding that this openness explains why there’s so much variation in what faculty think are acceptable uses of AI or not.

Part of the faculty remains skeptical about what AI incorporation means in academic life. Professor of History Jennifer M. Regan-Lefebvre expressed concern about eroding academic habits. “We’re seeing increased usage of AI and a decline in students producing their own work and that’s really disturbing,” she said. Departments have begun to adapt through handwritten exams and oral presentations but most rely on individual instructors to define boundaries. Tatem acknowledged these divides and emphasized, “Ignoring it isn’t an option.” He believes that both caution and experimentation are necessary for students and teachers to learn how to connect responsibly with emerging tools.

In the arts, conversations vary. Speaking with the Tripod, Professor of Theatre and Dance Peter Kyle reflected on a classroom experiment where he used ChatGPT to streamline sections of his syllabus. He shared both the edited and original versions with students to spark discussion about language, clarity and artistic expression. He noted that while the AI-produced version offered “simplicity and clarity,” it also revealed what was lost in the process. “It was losing what goes to the very heart of what it is to be an artist. It loses nuance. It loses a sense of poetry. It loses a sense of that individual’s voice,” he said. For Kyle, the exercise became a reminder that art education is ultimately about helping students “draw out their individuality and find agency within themselves.”

Associate Professor of Computer Science Madalene Spezialetti approaches AI from both creative and technical angles. “It’s an exciting time to be a computer scientist because the field is changing,” she said. “While it’s still important to know how to write code, that’s not enough anymore.” Her first-year seminar, FYSM 143 – “Didn’t Humans Used to Do That?”, required students to co-create every assignment with generative AI — from poetry and music to collages and film. “The opportunity there is enormous,” she explained. “You can expand your capabilities. I might have an idea in my head for a picture but not the artistic ability and now I can create that picture and share it.” The course culminated in an art exhibition and concert. “It gives people bravery to try new things,” she added. “If it works out, we’ll take credit. If it doesn’t, we’ll blame AI.” Spezialetti acknowledged ongoing concerns about academic honesty, which have prompted some faculty to return to paper exams. She emphasized, however, the importance of moving beyond a “gotcha mentality” to prepare students “to become testers, curators, innovative thinkers and inventors.” As Trinity continues to broaden its AI learning ecosystem through workshops like Winter Institute on Teaching With Technology (WITT) and its self-paced Moodle course, the conversation continues. Tatem emphasized collaboration and open dialogue. “We want to keep hearing from the community and from students,” he said. Reflecting on the college’s direction, Helberg said he appreciates that the institution “is taking a more proactive stance toward thinking about AI and making more resources available for critical AI literacy.” He added that the role of a small liberal arts institution “is now critically necessary.” Helberg argued that “the value of a college education has now gone through the roof because what you have is a tool that can produce something that sounds plausible but may actually be entirely erroneous. This is the point where a liberal arts education becomes essential, not just of high value but critically necessary for making our way in this new world.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that faculty and students were eligible for Enterprise Data Protection. Students are not eligible for this benefit.