Harnessing generative artificial intelligence to create authentic learning activities
Harnessing generative artificial intelligence to create authentic learning activities
Publish Date: 2026-06-18 14:05:00
Source Domain: www.ualberta.ca
- The AI with Purpose series highlights how faculty and staff at the University of Alberta are using AI to enhance student learning and clarify the university’s values.
- A team from the College of Health Sciences received a $25,000 grant to explore the impact of integrating generative AI (GenAI) into health professions education.
- The study, conducted across eight courses, found significant increases in students’ self-efficacy regarding GenAI, by up to 20 points on a 0-100 scale.
- Students used custom-configured AI assistants, known as Gems, to understand the roles of other healthcare professionals, which assisted role clarity and interprofessional learning.
- The team emphasizes the importance of critical AI literacy, focusing on understanding data biases, power structures, and the limitations of AI outputs, alongside basic AI literacy.
- A “cautiously curious” approach to using GenAI reflects university values and encourages safe and effective use of AI in future health professional practice.
- GenAI applications included synthesizing research findings, facilitating brainstorming, and providing personalized learning tools, highlighting its benefits in evidence-based education.
- The initiative has expanded to evaluate the accuracy and quality of AI Scribe in healthcare documentation, while also planning a graduate certificate focused on AI’s impact on healthcare.
