This page features sample assignments developed by members of the AI Teaching Community at Virginia Tech. Each assignment reflects ongoing experimentation with integrating generative AI into writing and communication courses. Browse these examples to see how instructors are designing activities that promote critical thinking, ethical AI use, and reflective learning.
Stand-Alone Assignments
This section highlights individual assignments that explore specific uses of generative AI in writing, research, and reflection.
| Assignment Name | Description | Author | Department or School |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Tool Exploration | This assignment introduces students to specific AI tools, asking them to evaluate the strengths and limitations of a specific tool. | Traci Gardner | Department of English |
| Case Study Report | Students analyze and revise a case study focused on intercultural issues using AI tools. | Shakil Rabbi | Department of English |
| Exploring Ethical AI Use in Academia | Students investigate ethical AI use across disciplines and share findings in a format of their choice, developing a broad understanding of its applications and social implications. | David Hicks | School of Education |
| Exploring the Ethical and Creative Uses of Generative AI | Students examine generative AI through reflection, tool analysis, case study discussion, and a creative project to explore ethical concerns and responsible academic use. | David Hicks | School of Education |
| Exploring the Potential and Challenges of Generative AI for Teaching and Learning: A Teacher as Research Project | Students investigate AI use in schools, test AI tools, and report on its implications for teaching in a multimodal report. | David Hicks | School of Education |
Assignment Series
This section features assignment series that scaffold student learning over multiple weeks. These sequences integrate AI tools alongside traditional writing instruction to support drafting, revising, reflecting, and developing digital literacy skills.
| Series Name | Lessons in the Series |
|---|---|
| Definitional Personal Narrative on the Concept “Home” By Justin Greene, Department of English Students write a personal narrative defining the concept of “home,” using reflection, specific examples, and invention writing. This five-week project integrates optional AI use and emphasizes process, originality, and ethical engagement. | |
| Exploring AI Literacy By David Hicks, School of Education, with Claude This five-part series guides students through the fundamentals of generative AI, its real-world applications, ethical challenges, and effective use. | |
| Learning about AI By David Hicks, School of Education, with Claude This assignment series introduces students to generative AI through reflection, prompt practice, and ethical analysis. It helps them explore AI’s capabilities and limits while building skills for responsible, discipline-specific use. | |
| Literacy Narrative By Ghazal Saeidar, Department of English Students complete a literacy narrative by progressing through AI-supported reading, outlining, peer review, and reflection activities over four weeks. | |
| Reading Spaces Photo Essay By Justin Greene, Department of English Students create a photo essay analyzing a meaningful space where they engage in “reading,” broadly defined. Combining images and text, this five-week project develops visual literacy, rhetorical awareness, and critical thinking about how environments shape interpretation. | |
| Rhetorical Analysis of Generative AI By Justin Greene, Department of English Students write a rhetorical analysis of a generative AI response to an academic article, examining how it uses appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. This four-week project sharpens critical thinking and information literacy while encouraging reflection on AI’s rhetorical effectiveness. |
Last Updated on July 28, 2025