Three assessment examples using AI tools

The following assessments utilise AI tools to help students exhibit higher-order thinking skills. They are designed to evaluate student learning in ways that align with contemporary needs. These assessments focus on tasks requiring students to apply their knowledge in meaningful contexts rather than relying on traditional assessments that often overlook essential skills such as teamwork. Through these assessments, students can demonstrate their understanding, critically evaluate information and collaborate effectively with AI.

1) Humanities Assessment: Crafting a Presentation on Imagery in Hamlet

Learning Objective: Create a presentation that analyses the use of imagery in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

In this assessment, you will use AI to help you explore the rich imagery in Hamlet and develop a presentation showcasing your analytical skills. AI can be used to brainstorm and structure your presentation.

1. AI-Assisted Brainstorming: Input a passage from Hamlet containing imagery into an AI tool. Ask the AI to:
   • Identify the types of imagery used.
   • Explain the possible meanings and interpretations.
   • Generate connections between the imagery and the play’s themes, characters, or plot.
2. Develop Presentation Structure: Use AI to structure your presentation. Input your ideas and the AI’s output into ChatGPT and ask it to generate a presentation structure. Include:
   • Introduction: Briefly introduce Hamlet and the concept of imagery.
   • Body Paragraphs: Analyse specific examples of imagery. Discuss their meaning and significance, supporting your points with evidence from the text.
   • Conclusion: Summarise your findings and explain the overall impact of imagery in the play.
3. Create Engaging Visuals: Consider using AI image-generation tools to create visuals for your presentation. For instance, you could generate images inspired by the imagery you are analysing.
4. Refine and Rehearse: Ensure your presentation is clear, engaging, and well-supported. Rehearse your delivery to ensure you can effectively communicate your ideas.

Remember: While AI can be a valuable tool for brainstorming, structuring, and generating visuals, the final content of your presentation should be your own. Avoid including any AI-generated content in your final submission.

2) Social Science Assessment: Building a Resource Repository on Climate Change

Learning Objective: Curate a digital repository of resources addressing climate change mitigation strategies for your local community.

For this assessment, you will use AI to gather information and create a well-organised and informative resource repository utilising a platform like Google Drive or a similar platform.

1. AI-Powered Resource Gathering: Using an AI research tool, compile a diverse collection of resources about:
   • Climate change impacts on your local community.
   • Effective mitigation strategies used elsewhere.
   • Relevant policy options.
2. Categorise and Organise: Create folders and subfolders within your digital repository to categorise resources logically. Consider categories such as:
   • Local Impacts: Reports, news articles, and data specific to your community.
   • Mitigation Strategies: Case studies, best practices, and policy briefs from other locations.
   • Policy Options: Research articles, policy proposals, and advocacy materials.
3. Enhance Discoverability: Ensure each resource has a clear title and a brief description summarising its key points. Use tags or keywords to make resources easily searchable.
4. Summarise and Synthesise: Consider using AI to concisely summarise essential resources. You can then add these summaries to your repository to provide a quick overview of the information.
5. Reflect and Share: Write a brief reflection on creating the repository, highlighting the challenges and insights you encountered. Consider sharing your repository with local policymakers or community organisations.

This assessment encourages you to apply your research and organisational skills to create a valuable resource for your community. Remember, a curated repository goes beyond simply collecting links; it involves thoughtful organisation, clear descriptions, and potentially the inclusion of summaries and reflections.

3)  Psychology Assessment: Developing a Research Proposal

Learning Objective: Formulate a research proposal investigating the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance.

This assessment utilises AI to enhance your research skills and prepare a research proposal following a structured format.

1. AI-Assisted Literature Review: Use an AI tool to gather relevant sleep deprivation and cognitive performance research. Request the AI to:
   • Summarise critical findings from relevant research articles.
   • Generate potential research questions.
2. Develop Research Question and Hypothesis: Based on the literature review, formulate a focused research question and a testable hypothesis. AI tools can help refine the wording.
3. Outline Methodology: Describe your proposed research methods:
   • Participants: Define your target sample, considering age, occupation, and sleep habits.
   • Procedure: Detail how you will manipulate sleep deprivation and assess cognitive performance using standardised tests.
   • Data Analysis: Explain how you plan to analyse the collected data to answer your research question.
4. Consider Ethical Implications: Address potential risks and benefits for participants, informed consent, and data privacy. Utilise AI to identify relevant ethical guidelines for research with human participants.
5. Structure and Present: Format your research proposal using a clear and logical structure. You can leverage AI tools for tasks such as:
   • Creating a table of contents.
   • Formatting references.
   • Proofreading and editing.

This assessment allows you to demonstrate your understanding of research methods and ethical considerations. Critical thinking and analysis are crucial when formulating the research question, hypothesis, methodology, and ethical considerations.