The Psychology Department does not have a blanket AI in the Classroom policy at this time.  Instead, each instructor is advised to give careful consideration to the impact (advantages and disadvantages) of students' use of AI in the context of each course for which they are the instructor and to be explicit in their syllabi and instruction regarding what is and is not permitted.  Thereafter, instructors are encouraged to review the templates below shared by SLU's Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.  You are welcome to contact your liaison if you need a consultation.  

CTTL Templates

The following four statements regarding the allowance or disallowance of the use of generative AI may offer different templates for use in course syllabi. The italicized text within brackets is intended to be a place holder for contextual information specific to a given instructor and/or the course being taught. The contextual information an instructor adds to the statement is crucial to making the statement specific to a particular course and/or instructor.

Statement prohibiting the use of generative AI.

Generative AI, including but not limited to [ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Midjourney, DALL-E or Github Copilot] may not be used for work in this class. The use of such generative AI tools may compromise your learning by undermining your ability to [ideate, fully understand how to structure an argument or narrative or formulate/create nonderivative creative work.]

You may not use generative AI to [brainstorm, compose theses or arguments based on theses provided by generative AI.] You may not use generative AI to in any way [augment your original work.] For example, asking an AI [to polish a piece of work you have written, debug code you have written or change art you have created] is not allowed. You may not use generative AI to compose work as a whole or in part for any assignment in this course.

Please review item three in the section labeled Plagiarism in the Saint Louis University Academic Integrity Policy.

Statement allowing the limited use of generative AI.

You are allowed to use generative AI in a limited capacity in this course. Tools such as [ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, Midjourney, DALL-E or GitHub Copilot] can be used for specific assignments as directed in the assignment. I have thoughtfully chosen when to implement the use of generative AI for your assignments. Please note the assignments for which generative AI is allowed come after you have been introduced to foundational skills and concepts [such as… ]. Tools that [perform readability analysis, detect tone and provide editing suggestions as well as those that paraphrase, summarize and outline] are allowed for general use on any assignment.

Using a generative AI tool may assist your learning by [simplifying texts, helping you brainstorm, providing choices of theses when writing, assisting you with forming arguments, providing grammar checks or feedback for structure, debugging code or creating works of art]. However, becoming dependent on generative AI could undermine your learning by [eroding your ability to ideate independently, participate fully and intentionally in the writing process, or critically problem solve by debugging your code]. The use of generative AI can [strip a writer of her/his voice diminishing a creative work]. Generative AI still produces inaccurate information and hallucinations are still common which if left unchecked can harm your grade on the assignment. Any work generated with AI should be fact checked to ensure accuracy. You are responsible for the content of your work.

If you have a question regarding if you are allowed to use generative AI for an assignment or whether you are using it appropriately, please discuss your concerns with me at your earliest opportunity.

If you choose to use a generative AI tool to assist with an assignment, you need to document its use. The proper citation format can be found here [APA, MLA, etc]. Please append your assignment with how you used generative AI for your work, where in the assignment it is used and provide proper citation in [APA, MLA etc] format. Your original work and your AI assisted work should be clearly evident. In addition, use of generative AI should conform to academic integrity policies for the university and regulations put forward by [the college or school you are in.] Please review item three in the section labeled Plagiarism in the Saint Louis University Academic Integrity Policy.

Statement allowing the use of generative AI.

You may use generative AI for any work or assignment and at any stage in this course. The use of generative AI may help your learning by [simplifying texts, helping you brainstorm, providing choices of theses when writing, assisting you with forming arguments, providing grammar checks or feedback for structure, debugging code or creating works of art]. But the use of generative AI can also undermine learning by [eroding your ability to ideate independently, participate fully and intentionally in the writing process, or critically problem solve by debugging your code]. This can impact your work in future courses.

When using generative AI, please remember that these tools can still be inaccurate and produce hallucinations. You are responsible for the content of your work. [Please remember to cite all resources including the use of generative AI using the proper citation format. I ask that you identify your original work in addition to the work aided by generative AI. Please include a brief narrative relating the ways you utilized generative AI in your work].

Proper citation format for generative AI use can be found here [APA, MLA, etc]. Any work generated with AI should be fact checked to ensure accuracy. You are responsible for the content of your work.

More permissive allowance for generative AI use

You are invited to use generative AI for any work in this course. In that this work is generated based on prompts you provide; you are not required to cite or otherwise identify how or where you used generative AI for an assignment. However, generative AI still produces inaccurate information and can hallucinate. You are responsible for the content of your work.

The use of generative AI tools can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on your learning. Benefits may include [simplifying texts, helping you brainstorm, providing choices of theses when writing, assisting you with forming arguments, providing grammar checks or feedback for structure, debugging code or creating works of art]. However [eroding your ability to ideate independently, participate fully and intentionally in the writing process, or critically problem solve by debugging your code] can be detriments to your learning.

The General Psychology 1818 ACC adjuncts and I meet virtually twice a year.  I host the annual Professional Development Workshop each fall.  These workshops are designed to focus on a special topic in the teaching of psychology.  Stay tuned for the topic I am planning for this fall, but past topics included those below.  You can find archived slides from past workshops in the resources folder.  

• Giving and Receiving Feedback

• Promoting Reflection

• Active Learning

• Teaching for Transfer

• Teaching Ethics

• Meta-Cognition

We will meet again more informally during the spring semester.  Please save the dates below for this coming year.  More information and zoom links to follow.

Psychology Professional Development Workshop:   3-5 pm, Thursday, November 7, 2024

Psychology PD Video 2023

Psychology Meetup:   4:45-5:45  pm CST, Thursday, February 28, 2025

Syllabus Template

The SLU 1818 ACC Program requires that adjunct instructors in all disciplines use a common syllabus format.  Use the link above to access the General Psychology syllabus template.  You can add your school-specific information into this template.  For example, your syllabus must include the SLU logo, course description, learning objectives and so forth.  However, you have the option to add your own description below the SLU description, and/or additional learning objectives and so forth. 

Each year, the program will ask you to resubmit your syllabus to me for my review.  As needed, I will ask you to make revisions before you submit it formally to the 1818 ACC Program and before you distribute it to your students. Questions along the way are welcome!

This section contains various materials I am happy to share related to teaching General Psychology and psychology in general.  The first section below includes APA references that discuss "best practices" for teaching psychology.  These are references that I emphasize both for 1818 General Psychology sections and for students in the graduate seminar I teach on Teaching of Psychology.

• Gurung et al. (2016).  Article with recommendations for teaching General Psychology

• Teaching & Learning Continuum      This links you to a representation of teaching strategies.  Research suggests that students learn better (i.e., understand more, retain longer, and transfer more effectively) when instructors use more of the strategies on the continuum to the right.  

• Bloom's Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Skills   This well-known approach to critical thinking is always a timely reminder to design instruction that exercises the higher level critical thinking skills (i.e., analysis, evaluation, and synthesis/creativity).  Too often, instruction and assessment gets stalled at the lower level skills (i.e., knowledge/memory, understanding/comprehension, and application).  

In the section below, are slides from our Professional Development Workshop last year.  

• Fall 2022  Promoting Reflection 

This folder will be yours where you can share successful active learning lessons or ideas with everyone else.  We will use our spring meetup meeting to discuss together how we organize it.

Class visits are our opportunity to connect annually about your teaching, both the victories and the challenges.  I look forward to attending your class once each year, either in-person or virtually when your school is not in St. Louis.  Traditionally, I schedule class visits in the Spring semester; but be sure you remind me if your course is a fall course only.  We will find a day/time to schedule my visit that works for both of us.  Please be sure, however, to suggest dates when the class period is not for testing or assessment or when a large number of students are on field trips.  

During my visit, I take notes of what I observe, including the variety of teaching strategies you use and ways that you engage your students in learning.  After my visit, either that same day or via zoom at a later time, I am happy to give you feedback, discuss your insights about teaching psychology, and make some suggestions.  Class visits also give us a chance to get to know each other better.

Psychology Discipline-Specific Grading & Assessment