Incorporating Large Language Models into Reading Practices [Resource]
Incorporating Large Language Models into Reading Practices [Resource]
Jonahs Kneitly
What You Will Learn in This Section
In this section, we will examine how generative AI (GenAI) tools may assist with academic reading and research. Examples of content generated by ChatGPT will show how GenAI may be incorporated into a classroom setting. Each section offers suggestions for use and various strategies that could be incorporated for those who wish to allow the use of these tools for assignments. Included throughout are suggestions on how to promote students’ ethical and effective use of these tools and to possibly limit their use if desired. By the end of this section, you should be able to use GenAI to support reading practices.
This chapter is divided in the following sections. Click the links below to jump down to a section that interests you:
- Author Reflection: How has my understanding of AI evolved?
- How can LLMs and other GenAI help with academic reading?
- How might LLMs enrich active reading?
- How can LLMs help with collaborative reading?
- What problems should be avoided?
- What is the point of the caveats placed in AI-generated content?
- If it generates inaccuracies, why use it?
- What strategies can facilitate effective reading?
- What is the best strategy for better information?
- How can educators guide students in using LLMs for academic reading and research?
- What considerations should we share with our students before incorporating LLMs into their reading and research process?
Author Reflection: How has my understanding of GenAI evolved?
My immediate reaction to including these tools in my classroom was “Never!” After being involved in this project, however, I see that my stance was unconsidered and unachievable. Embracing these tools and integrating them into classrooms as digital literacy tools is the best option to support their ethical and effective use. These GenAI are highly capable tools, but they are not perfect. Having the skills to recognize the weaknesses and leverage the strengths of these tools will help our students build successful careers in a world that is becoming more reliant on this technology.
Jonahs Kneitly (see fig. 1)[1] teaches rhetoric and composition in Texas A&M University’s Department of English, where he is a Ph.D. student studying pain and illness in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
How can LLMs and other GenAI help with academic reading?
Things to Consider Before Integrating an LLM into the Classroom
While Large Language Models (LLMs) and other GenAI can be valuable tools in the classroom, it is important to be familiar with their associated risks. LLMs are designed to appear intelligent and to have personalities, but instructors should exercise caution when using them within a real-time classroom setting as some have inherent bias and have enacted problematic behaviors during conversations. LLMs and other AI also experience machine drift, which is the degradation of a program over time an