AI in primary care education: Educator workshop | 2024-01-03

The workshop can contribute to one hour of continuous professional development (CPD) in Medical Education.  This page contains a summary of our learning. 

Future dates: The Aims of the monthly Educator workshops 

The last Educator workshop Educator workshop - December 2023 - Unprofessional behaviour module 

This workshop explored the potential for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into primary care education. While most participants were not currently using AI in education, the discussion identified various applications and highlighted challenges to consider.

General AI Uses in Education: The session began with an overview of generative AI's capabilities, showcasing its ability to create diverse educational materials like emails, case studies, exam questions, and even tutorial plans. Additional functionalities include providing feedback, facilitating reflection, and aiding problem-solving. AI can generate code, presentations, visuals, and even movies for a more creative touch.

ChatGPT Applications: Examples showcased included prompts for explanation, question creation, and code generation (which can then be used to create prompts for Google Forms). AI can even be utilised to generate flowcharts for visual learning.

The "Genius in the Room" Metaphor: To effectively utilise generative AI, consider using the "genius in the room" metaphor. AI is viewed as a powerful tool, but like any collaborator, it requires clear instructions and precise prompts to produce desired results. A conceptual model of prompt engineering, outlining inputs, processes, and outputs, was presented to guide prompt formulation.

Risks and Ethical Considerations: We presented inherent risks associated with AI, including inaccuracies, biased outputs, and potential plagiarism concerns. Students actively using AI for learning and content creation necessitate proactive approaches.

Plagiarism and Authenticity: One key question centred around assessing plagiarism when student reflections incorporate AI-generated content. The group debated possible approaches, acknowledging the potential discrepancies between written and spoken communication styles. Plagiarism-detection software like Turnitin and institutional guidance on AI use (e.g., University College London's policy) were mentioned as potential resources. However, students have access to software that can avoid plaigarism detection. Where does that leave us. We talked about the need to review what we assess and re-design this in the era of AI. 

Accessibility and Equity: Concerns emerged regarding potential disadvantages for students unfamiliar with AI tools, further amplifying the digital divide. The quote "The future of AI is here but not equally distributed" was shared with the group, prompting reflections on ensuring equitable access to technology and training.

AI as a Tool and Skill Development: The potential for AI to augment learning was acknowledged, with comparisons drawn to tools like spell-checkers. We explored the need for student and tutor training to verify the accuracy of AI-generated content and identify potential "hallucinations" (factually incorrect references). Resources like Queen Mary University of London's e-learning modules and guidance materials were highlighted as valuable resources for further training.

Professional Development and Ethical Awareness: Equipping students with ethical understanding regarding AI use is essential. The need for clear guidelines on acceptable and unacceptable practices and accessible support avenues for those unsure of usage boundaries emerged.

The Future of Educators: The workshop presented the "worked example effect," a well-established learning technique demonstrating AI's potential to reduce cognitive load during knowledge acquisition, freeing educators to focus on higher-order skills and personalised guidance. In addition, we presented possible improvements in co-pilots acting as ''AI Agents'' and the increasing use of virtual reality. What will happen if AI takes over our work and what will our future roles be?

Student Guide to AI - QMUL

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/library/academic-skills/student-guide-to-generative-ai/ 

Generative AI and Chat GPT - a guide for Queen Mary staff

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/queenmaryacademy/educators/resources/assessment-and-feedback/resources/generative-ai-and-chat-gpt/ 

Russel Group guidance on AI 

https://russellgroup.ac.uk/media/6137/rg_ai_principles-final.pdf

student perception of Generative AI 

https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/student-perceptions-of-generative-ai 

AI primer - introduction

https://nationalcentreforai.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2024/01/02/generative-ai-primer/