We enjoyed presentations by two DOLCE speakers for our April 2026 DOLCE.
Sociology Lecturer and Researcher Dr. Yael Teff-Seker gave a talk titled “When in Rome?: Responsible Decriminalization of AI Use in Student Assignments.”
She discussed alternative AI-friendly assignments and pedagogical
strategies she has developed that ensure effective learning and the
creation of holistic supportive learning environments. While
highlighting student feedback, she discussed the place for AI as a
helpful learning tool while reducing its negative pedagogical effects.
She shared some ideas and techniques regarding how effective
teaching can coexist with AI, including assignments that discourage
“black box” AI use for analysis, but allow ethical and pedagogically
useful interactions with AI platforms.
Undergraduate Council Chair David Kyle presented “Making Student and AI Thinking Visible: KNOBEs in Undergraduate Sociology.”
Across
two large undergraduate courses at UC Davis, Kyle tested a simple idea:
assignment design determines whether student thinking stays visible or
disappears behind polished answers. In SOC 1 (200 students), students
could use AI for some elements if they disclosed it; most did not. In
SOC 2 (150 students), assignments required students to state a
leadership role, cite sources, apply concepts to real cases, and sign
off on their reasoning and AI disclosure. Whether or not they used AI,
students had to show how their answers were produced.
Compliance
was nearly complete. What changed was not enforcement, but visibility:
the structure made the process of thinking part of the work itself. This
approach became KNOBE Charts, a structured assignment format and
optional file protocol that requires students to document their
reasoning, sources, and decisions alongside their answers. Kyle will
discuss what this reveals about honesty, accountability, and a deeper
question: not whether students use AI, but whether we can still see how
knowledge is produced.
Access the Zoom chat from the event.
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