No one can deny that students are using large language models like ChatGPT in a range of ways to support their completion of their university coursework: generating translations, ideas, outlines, essays, reflections, summaries, reading responses, presentations (Walsh 2025). And while nearly any assignment can be AI-generated, it has also become clear that with the advancement of these technologies and students’ creative prompting, we are unable to reliably detect these generated assignments (Walsh 2025; Kreuz 2025). Some academics have also contentiously begun to use these models to support their own work (Kobak et al 2025; Snoswell et al 2025).

What does this mean for students and for our pedagogy as instructors?

This not only has serious ethical implications, but cognitive learning impacts that are still being discovered (Kosmyna et al 2025; Kovanovic and Marrone 2025). Yet with the reality of AI’s proliferation and integration into many professional spheres, course instructors across universities are torn about how to approach this AI use.

The Department of Canadian Heritage is taking this challenge seriously through their call to fund projects up to $380,000 at their Digital Citizen Contribution Program, particularly this opportunity, among others, for post-secondary institutions, with applications closing on August 22 for this year:

Projects that engage High School, College or University students, as part of their course or program requirements, in fact-checking activities to support the work of Canadian media organizations, including diaspora community media and reputable independent media, in pre-bunking and de-bunking disinformation

To unpack, experiment with, and respond to these questions at UTSC’s Arts, Culture and Media department (ACM), Prof. T.L. Cowan (CLCF member and ACM Associate Chair, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility Commitments & Initiatives) and Prof. Marla Hlady (Associate Professor, and erstwhile Associate Chair Curriculum & Teaching in 2024-25) convened the GenAI & Classroom Dynamics ACM Working Group.

This research began with surveys and town halls with ACM students, TAs, sessional instructors, and faculty beginning in Spring 2025, as well as research into guidelines and initiatives by other departments at UofT and academic institutions.

Since then, the GenAI & Classroom Dynamics ACM Working Group has grown, composed of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, sessionals, TAs, and faculty. Together, we have identified key areas of intervention and experimentation, piloting different pedagogical approaches including:

• “No & No” Courses: trial runs of courses that prohibit the use of AI and any devices (e.g. laptops, cellphone) in classroom settings spearheaded by CLCF members Prof. Jas Rault and Prof. David Nieborg.
• AI in Assignments: experimental pedagogies that integrate AI tools, are designed to strategically exclude them, or are “choose your own adventure” assignments (designed by Prof. T.L. Cowan) that allow students to determine and disclose how they use AI-tools including from GenAI and Automated Translation Tools by filling out an “AI Appendix”.
• ACM TA Handbook: supporting TA’s existing work and the reimagining of the work of TA in-class, beyond grading.
• Critical AI/AI Ethics: the creation of reading lists and teaching resources to support instructors’ incorporation of critical AI students in their classrooms, led by CLCF members Aline Zara, Daphne Idiz, and Rafael Grohmann.
• Pro-Speaker Series: bringing in panels of professionals to speak to how AI is being integrated or not into their fields, and the real-life critical skills students need to succeed. CLCF will be taking part in Pro-Speaker series through research profiles and panels of ongoing CLCF research by members like ME Luka, Rafael Grohmann, Daphne Idiz, Desirée Livingstone, Godwin Simon, Hadiya Roderique, Laura Risk, Mark Campbell, Sanaz Mazinani, and the AI mapping projects (Aline Zara, Cate Alexander, Helena Wright, Julia Parke, and Lauren Knight).