Using generative AI in teaching and learning

See examples of how McGill instructors have incorporated statements on the use of generative AI in their course outlines.

Explore the new myCourses self-paced module: Generative AI for Teaching and Learning

What is generative AI?

Generative AI (gen AI) is a type of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to create new types of media, including text, images, sound, and video. Many tools exist that use generative AI to create new content. Some examples include:

Media	Example tools
Text	Copilot (Secure version approved at McGill) ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini (not approved for use at McGill)
Images	Copilot (Secure version approved at McGill) Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, DALL-E3 (not approved for use at McGill)
Sound	Copilot (Secure version approved at McGill) Voiceify (not approved for use at McGill)
Video	D-ID (not approved for use at McGill)

A secure version of Microsoft Copilot has been approved at McGill. Copilot is an AI chatbot tool integrated into Microsoft Edge and accessible from other browsers. Read more about using Copilot at McGill.

Generative AI tools are built upon large language models (LLM) that have been trained on enormous corpora of information and are designed to respond to input prompts with well-structured output. They are focused on predictive text (i.e., the most likely word to follow a previous word), as well as generated media based on patterns or styles in existing datasets. While the outputs can often demonstrate seemingly sophisticated language interaction, there may be situations where they provide inaccurate information in that interaction (e.g., fictional sources). These tools are constantly improving, however, it is important to examine any generative AI output with a critical lens. The McGill Library has a page on artificial intelligence with a section on AI Literacy that discusses the importance of critically approaching AI.

Ethical use of generative AI

The development of generative AI has brought many ethical considerations that must be addressed with its use. The 2018 Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence and the 2021 UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence provide a number of principles important to the adoption of these new technologies. Both documents offer an excellent framework for how organizations need to consider these new technologies.

The emergence of generative AI is leading to a process of reflection on the evolution of the concept of academic integrity. For any questions related to disciplinary procedures, contact the Office of the Dean of Students.

McGill instructors should follow the same disciplinary procedures as for any other instance where there are concerns about academic integrity. To note: the ⁠Code of Student Conduct was updated last month and it now includes specific reference to generative AI with respect to academic offenses (see Articles 25-b and 26-f). For further information, such as the quantity of cases McGill is dealing with, the Office of the Dean of Students might be able to provide information.

Instructors might be able to mitigate such cases by providing students with guidance about whether and how gen AI use is permitted in their courses. McGill strongly recommends that all instructors include in their course outlines a statement about gen AI use.

Learn more:

AI in academia: The end of the essay? (Maple League of Universities - YouTube video)
Infographic: Generative AI explained by AI (Visual Capitalist)
Teaching AI literacy: How to begin (Inside Higher Education)
What is generative AI? (McKinsey)

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How can generative AI be used in teaching and learning?

In May 2023, the Senate Subcommittee on Teaching and Learning (STL) created a working group to address the use of generative AI at McGill. The working group drafted a report with key recommendations for the use of generative AI at McGill. The report also presents principles for the use of generative AI in teaching and learning.

Many different strategies exist for using generative AI tools in course teaching. For example, instructors can use them to create sample texts for students to analyze, create images for presentations, design entire presentation materials, and generate sample practice questions. Strategies also exist for students to use generative AI tools to support their learning. For example, they can be used to brainstorm ideas, create images to support assignments such as presentations, and summarize documents. These resources offer more ideas for creating instructional materials and supporting student learning: How could AI be used for learning and teaching? and How AI can be used meaningfully by teachers and students in 2023.

Assessment is one facet of course design. The course design approach we promote at McGill suggests beginning with learning outcomes – what knowledge/skills/values would we like students to leave a course with? From there, we can consider what types of assessments align with the desired outcomes. The advent of gen AI might mean rethinking what those learning outcomes are before considering how to redesign assessment. Rethinking learning outcomes – this is an important consideration with implications for higher ed/society.

Specifically in online education, McGill promotes experiential learning activities that require students to apply skills, make decisions, and produce work similar to what they would encounter in professional practice. These activities may take the form of interactive simulations, scenario-based assessments, authentic tasks linked to real-world contexts, and reflective activities that help students connect their experiences with course concepts. In some cases, gen AI use is intentionally integrated into the learning activities and requires that any use of gen AI tools be properly cited.

It is important to note that students need AI literacy skills to responsibly use generative AI tools. These potentially new literacy skills could include elements such as fact-checking and prompt engineering. All McGill instructors and students can explore the new myCourses self-paced module Generative AI for Teaching and Learning.

Avoid AI detection tools

AI detection tools are tools designed to identify content that is partially or wholly generated by AI. These tools (specifically regarding generated text) are unreliable and often inaccurate, a statement corroborated by OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. OpenAI states that their false positive rate is 9%, which is a similar rate found in other AI detection tools. A false positive is when the tool identifies text as being generated by AI when it was actually created by a student. False positive results misguide instructors and can create situations where students are wrongly accused of a violation that they did not commit, forcing them to defend work that is rightfully theirs. Such situations can result in a negative classroom climate and create unnecessary stress and anxiety for all involved. McGill therefore discourages the use of AI detection tools.

Note: McGill also does not recommend online proctoring.

Course outline statements

There should be no default assumption as to the use of generative AI tools. Therefore, McGill recommends that instructors explain to students in their course outline what the appropriate use or non-use is of generative AI tools in the context of that course. The use or non-use of these tools should align with the learning outcomes associated with the course. For this reason, instructors will need to write their own context-appropriate course outline statements. Below are four external examples to draw on:

Monash University policy and practice guidance around acceptable and responsible use of AI technologies: See the Actions box and the section entitled Specify conditions for the use of generative AI in assessment.
University of Florida has an excellent AI resource page that shows concise examples of course outline statements and multiple categories of suggestions on how to either neutralize or capitalize on using AI in courses.
University of Toronto syllabus language: This document provides suggestions for clarifying whether students can use generative AI tools; can use generative AI tools in certain instances; or cannot use them at all in the course.
Update your course syllabus for ChatGPT (Medium): See the section entitled Before editing your syllabus and the one entitled Update your syllabus.

If you allow students to use generative AI tools in your course, provide guidance in your course outline for how students should acknowledge the use. Monash University provides useful examples, as well as links to APA and MLA citation guidelines. See the section entitled How students acknowledge the use of generative AI.

Course outline statements from McGill instructors

The following examples demonstrate how some McGill instructors have communicated their expectations, requirements, and/or limitations regarding the use of generative AI by students within specific courses. These statements have been reproduced with instructor permission.

Dr. Véronique Brulé

Dr. Véronique Brulé (Course coordinator), Fundamentals of Genetics and Genomics (BIOL 302)

The use of generative AI is permitted in this course as a study aid, particularly for generating practice problems and summarizing concepts. The instructional team views AI as a tool to support learning—not to replace it. We encourage you to leverage AI to enhance your study process, but strongly discourage its use in connection with course assessments.

Dr. Véronique Brulé and Dr. Armin Yazdani

Dr. Véronique Brulé and Dr. Armin Yazdani (Course coordinators), Undergraduate Research Projects in Teaching and Learning (Independent study) (FSCI 396/397)

If you choose to use generative AI tools to aid in any of your FSCI 396/397 assignments in any way, it is expected that gen AI tools will be properly referenced using APA style, and a description outlining why the gen AI tool was used/for what purpose, and how it enhanced your assignment. This description needs to be explicit and accompany all assignments that utilize gen AI tools. Failure to include a proper reference and description will be considered to be a breach of academic integrity and an academic misconduct. If you have any questions about the use of gen AI tools or AI assistants, please reach out to me for clarification. APA info: https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/how-to-cite-chatgpt.

Dr. Jasmin Chahal

Dr. Jasmin Chahal (course instructor), Laboratory in Microbiology (MIMM 212)

NOTE – Generative AI usage beyond [the designated] assignment: Generative AI resources are changing the way we work. For this course, it is strongly recommended that you produce the presentation and written material on your own. Gen AI should only be used for the specific assignment that asks for it. Producing your own work is a chance for you to develop critical analysis, interpretation, writing and oral communication skills in a supportive environment. GenAI has been known to provide factually inaccurate statements, implicit bias, misinterpretation of published data and references that might not exist. For more information about the level of risks of various tasks: https://www.mcgill.ca/gps/files/gps/using_generative_ai_in_research_gps_guidelines_november_2024.pdf

Dr. Emily MacLeod

Dr. Emily MacLeod (course instructor), Educational Implications of Social Theory (EDER 608)

Using Generative AI (Gen AI) for assignments: In this course I am using a three-tier categorisation for using Generative AI (Gen AI) in student assessments. The three categories of green, amber and red are not rigidly defined. They are intended to create a shared understanding of how and when to use Generative AI tools in a particular assessment:

AI CATEGORY Green: There are no assignments with an AI category rating of green in this course.

AI CATEGORY Amber: Where an assignment has an AI category rating of Amber, this means that you are permitted to use Gen AI tools in an assistive role should you wish to in this assignment. Here you may use Gen AI to complete assignments in ways that will optimise – rather than damage – learning. Please always indicate where and how Gen AI has been used. For this, you may wish to use the text at the bottom of this section.

AI CATEGORY Red: Where an assignment has an AI category of Red, this means that Gen AI cannot be used in this assignment. Where appropriate, you are still permitted to use dictionaries, thesauri, spelling and grammar-checking software to help identify and correct spelling mistakes and grammatical errors (even if they are powered by Gen AI). However, you should not use any software to rewrite sentences or make substantive changes to your original text, as this would be against the rules of this category.

If you choose to use Gen AI, you should always take a critical approach to the use of any output from a Generative AI tool. Gen AI tools can create content that is superficial, inaccurate, not peer-reviewed, nor academically rigorous. Outputs are often without any academic sources underpinning their content. So, you should always analyze and verify the information Gen AI tools provide, rather than accepting it at face value.

When you use Gen AI tools to support your work, you should always save copies of the outputs that the Gen AI tool produces for you. You may be asked to provide this information as part of your assessment or in any academic misconduct process.

To minimize data protection and privacy risks, all staff and students should use Microsoft Copilot for university work. For more information please see McGill’s information on using Copilot as a Gen AI tool.

Finally, I welcome conversations if you have ideas for how to make the most of Gen AI in future assignments.

Please use the following convention to cite any content generated using Gen AI:

I acknowledge the use of [insert AI system(s) and link] to [specific use of generative artificial intelligence]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use].

e.g., I acknowledge the use of Copilot (https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat) to generate materials for background research and self-study in the drafting of this assignment. I entered the following prompts on 29 January 2026: Write a 50 word summary about Judith Butler’s contribution to queer theory. Write it in an academic style. Add references and quotations from Butler’s text ‘Gender trouble’. The output from the generative artificial intelligence was adapted and modified for the final response. Below is a version of the AI platform’s output that I edited. You can see my edits using “Track Changes” (Word).

This statement was developed through discussion with colleagues and with inspiration from these resources: Arizona State University and the University of Leeds.

Prof. Heidi Wendt

Prof. Heidi Wendt, Classics Honours Seminar (CLAS 500) and Formation of the New Testament (RELG 311)

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is strictly forbidden for use in the production of any written work in this course. While we will discuss how certain tools may aid in conducting very preliminary research, for the purpose of data compilation, or to track certain themes or terminology across ancient literature, under no circumstances may they stand in for original thinking, writing, or critical engagement with scholarship. Any suspected violations of this policy will be reported to the Faculty of Arts for disciplinary review.

Faculty of Arts (Fall 2025 course outline checklist)

Forbidding use of AI

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including grammar checkers such as Grammarly, is forbidden for use at any and all stages of work in this course. Violations of this policy will be reported to a disciplinary officer in the Faculty of Arts.

Permitting the use of AI in some assessments and forbidding it in others

Some assessments in this course allow students to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Students may use AI only in those assessments where it is explicitly permitted to do so in the course outline. Students are responsible for validating the veracity of outputs generated by AI. Students must acknowledge AI where it has been used during any part of the assignment process. Failure to cite the use of AI appropriately will be considered a violation of academic integrity. Note that AI includes the use of grammar checkers such as Grammarly. Use of AI tools in assignments where AI is expressly forbidden in the course outline will be reported to a disciplinary officer in the Faculty of Arts.

Encouraging the use of AI

Students are encouraged to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools throughout this course. This policy applies to all stages of all assignments; however, AI must be appropriately cited as with any other source. Failure to acknowledge AI will be considered a violation of academic integrity. Students are responsible for validating the veracity of outputs generated by AI.

Uncredited contribution

Document use of AI tools: Please be sure to submit only your own original work in our course. None of the assignments should be completely generated by AI tools unless that is the focus of one of your projects and you are sharing examples. Other than for final edits, please indicate where you have used AI as you submit your assignment (in the submission comment field on myCourses). For the University guidelines, please refer to the Principles on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning at McGill: https://www.mcgill.ca/provost/files/provost/principles_on_generative_ai_in_teaching_and_learning_at_mc gill.pdf

In addition, in the guidelines of each assignment, the AI guidelines are bolded. Here are the AI guidelines for the assignments:

Please do not use generative AI tools for this personal, reflective activity.

The course guidelines state that students should not use AI tools to complete an assignment in its entirety. This means that you should not submit unmodified AI text as your own and you should not use AI to bypass required readings or analysis. If you used AI tools, beyond spelling and grammar edits on your final draft, please share how you’ve engaged these tools.
Please read the article and complete the summary worksheet without using AI tools. Also note that your visual will be much more effective if you design it yourself.

Please do not use AI to summarize the interviewee’s responses. We want to read their own real words and sentences.

AI and assessment of student learning

Generative AI tools can be used to support many different types of assessment. As with the planning of any assessment of student learning, it is important to be intentional about the strategy. In this case, be intentional about either designing AI into your assessments or designing AI out of your assessments. This reflective process will encourage you to think through your assessments and determine if the integration of AI is appropriate (or not) for allowing students to demonstrate their learning. Designing AI into an assessment could involve having students generate the assignment with an AI tool, then critique the output, and reflect on the process. Designing AI out of the assessment could involve in-class writing exercises, where students create and share their ideas with other students in class during class time. Either way, the decision should align with students’ achievement of the desired learning outcomes. Monash University provides excellent considerations for assessment design.

Learn more:

6 Tenets of postplagiarism: Writing in the age of artificial intelligence (Teaching and Leadership)
AI-generated content in the classroom: Considerations for course design (Illinois State University)
Artificial Intelligence (UNESCO)
Beyond Grading: Assessment in the age of AI (McGill, video, 50 minutes)
Bloom’s taxonomy revisited with AI (Oregon State University)
Bowen, J. A., & Watson, C. E. (2024). Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. Johns Hopkins University Press
How do I Consider the Options for a Generative AI Course Policy? (Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
McGill Library guide on artificial intelligence (McGill Library)
The Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS): A Framework for Ethical Integration of Generative AI in Educational Assessment. (2024). Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 21(06).

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Resources:

Generative AI for teaching and learning (myCourses module for instructors and students)

Teaching consultations (one-on-one meeting with a TAP staff member)

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