A Department’s Syllabi Review for LLM Considerations Prior to University-standard Guidance

Abstract The release and widespread use of generative artificial intelligence causes concern for the future of teaching and learning. Since the release of ChatGPT, some institutions released guidance on its use in education, while other institutions waited for the technology to mature. This study is contextually situated during the Fall 2023 semester at a single university; Unique because the university had not published LLM guidance yet, but the technology had been out long enough for students to become familiar with its use. Through the conceptual lens of Teacher Noticing This study examined (a) whether faculty saw the potential use of LLMs for teaching and learning, and (b) how they responded to the rapid impact of LLMs in the classroom before university-standard guidance. Via document analysis, we found that despite LLM chatbots being widespread for roughly 9 months before the Fall semester, only a third of faculty acknowledged its use in the classroom. Faculty took three positions toward it: encouraged, discouraged, and prohibited. As found in qualitative analysis, most of the language was precautionary and discouraging. Through the lens of Teacher Noticing, we suggest that this is worrisome since faculty beliefs seemed to be mismatched with the enthusiasm and excitement of AI from students. Only a few months later, the university encouraged the use of creatively incorporating LLMs in the classroom to foster learning and increase students' awareness of the limitations of the tools. In a technology department especially, instructors falling behind the curve of digital literacy may impact students' satisfaction with their education. Future work should be done to understand how university guidance impacts faculty beliefs and how that translates to pedagogical techniques and learning outcomes.