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EP 6: From Copy-Paste to Critical Thinking: 10 AI Guardrails and Hacks Every Educator Needs
Manage episode 479932650 series 3656892
We’ve all read those suspiciously flawless essays that scream “I was born in a chatbot!” And while AI isn’t going anywhere, neither is our responsibility as educators to teach thinking—not just typing.
In this episode of The What & Who of EDU, host Marisa Bluestone brings you 10 practical AI guardrails and hacks straight from real educators. From rubric-writing clones and "tilted" assignments to Socratic prompt design and digital fire safety, these strategies show how AI can support, not supplant, authentic learning.
This podcast is brought to you by Macmillan Learning.
🎓Today's Syllabus:
Dr. Erika Martinez (Univ. of South Florida) – AI as a digital assistant to boost productivity and reclaim time. [00:02:04]
Jennifer Duncan (Georgia State Univ.) – Use AI to TILT your assignments and make expectations crystal clear. [00:03:14]
Dr. Amy Goodman (Baylor Univ.) – AI as a rubric-writing coach to articulate grading standards—and your sanity. [00:04:54]
Dr. Christin Monroe (Landmark College) – Map AI use back to learning objectives. If it doesn’t serve the goal, skip it. [00:06:58]
Adriana Bryant (Lone Star College–Kingwood) – Establish syllabus-based “fire safety” guardrails for safe exploration. [00:09:02]
Dr. Margaret Holloway (Clark Atlanta Univ.) – Limit AI use to brainstorming—so students still do the thinking. [00:10:34]
Betsy Langness (Jefferson Comm. & Tech College) – Promote AI accuracy + ethics: use it, cite it, verify it. [00:12:18]
Julie Moore (Eastern Univ.) – Remind students their stories matter—bots can’t replace their lived experience. [00:13:35]
Dr. Amy Goodman (Encore!) – Teach prompt-based learning: Socratic nudges > full-blown solutions. [00:15:39]
Adriana Bryant (Double Encore!) – Require AI documentation for digital literacy and transparency. [00:17:38]
Instructors (in order of appearance):
Dr. Erika Martinez is a Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida, where she has been teaching economics for 14 years. She also teaches at UNC-Kenan Flagler Business School’s MBA@UNC online program and Santa Barbara City College, covering courses from principles of economics to advanced microeconomic theory and many economic electives. She is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and is passionate about making economics accessible and engaging for all students.
Jennifer Duncan is Associate Professor of English at Georgia State University's Perimeter College. Jennifer has been teaching English literature and composition for twenty-five years and specializing in online teaching for fifteen.
Dr. Amy Goodman is a Senior Lecturer in the Mathematics Department at Baylor University, where she has taught since 1999. In addition to teaching, she is also a course designer (for the Mathematics Department and the School of Education), OER author, teaching mentor to other faculty and graduate students, and learning analytics researcher. Her pedagogy is founded on the belief that all students - any student - can be successful at mathematics.
Dr. Christin Monroe is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Landmark College, where she has been teaching for five years. She teaches in Principles of Chemistry, Introduction to Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry, with a focus on supporting neurodivergent learners through inclusive and innovative teaching practices.
Adriana Bryant is an English and Developmental English Instructor at Lone Star College- Kingwood in Texas. She teaches courses of different modalities, and strives to create an engaging environment that helps foster her students' growth and overall desire to learn. She also contributes to professional development within my department and college community.
Dr. Margaret Holloway is an Assistant Professor of English and the Composition Coordinator in the English & Modern Languages Department at Clark Atlanta University. Her research is rooted in the rhetoric and composition discipline, and she has nine years of college-level teaching experience.
Betsy Langness has been with Jefferson Community and Technical College since 2002. Prior to becoming a full-time faculty member in 2015, she was a Counselor at the college and taught as an adjunct for 9 years. Before coming to Jefferson, she was a Senior Academic Advisor for the Honors Program at the University of Louisville. She is currently teaching general and developmental psychology courses in a virtual, asynchronous environment.
Julie Moore has been teaching writing, literature, and writing center pedagogy in Higher Education for 35 years; presently, she works as a Senior Online Academic Advisor and First-Year Composition Instructor for Eastern University's LifeFlex program. The author of four collections of poems, Moore has recently won the Donald Murray Prize from Writing on the Edge and several notable prizes for her poetry.
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