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Using AI for Learning

Guidance for students on four common places where AI shows up in coursework: reading the syllabus, learning from AI, completing assignments, and using AI outside of class.

Getting Oriented

The use of AI in a course is shaped by several sources, including Virginia Tech’s Responsible and Ethical AI Principles, the Honor Code, AI literacy, and the course objectives as described in the syllabus.

Practice Responsible Use

In learning, AI should be considered where it most commonly shows up: on a course syllabus, when using AI as a tutor to learn a hard concept, when completing assignments, and when applying for internships and employment. Each recommendation below is followed by the related principle for Responsible and Ethical AI in parentheses.

Reading a syllabus for AI policies

Every course should have an AI policy. The syllabus for each course should set expectations for AI use. If your instructor allows AI for outlines but not drafts, that distinction matters. Follow the course policy as written. The following tips will ensure you understand the policy before the first assignment is graded.

  • Read the AI policy section on the first day of class. (Fairness & Transparency)
    • If it isn't clear, ask the instructor in writing and save their answer for reference.
  • Be aware that course AI policies can permit some uses and restrict others. (Responsible & Ethical Use)
    • Look for words like permitted, encouraged, prohibited, and disclosed.
    • Note which assignments state that AI assistance is not allowed.
  • Even when AI is permitted, decide for each assignment whether using it actually serves your learning. (Human Judgment)
    • Consider if using AI would help you learn the material faster. If the answer is yes, using AI may be an appropriate option.

Using AI to learn a hard concept

AI can serve as a study aid by helping to explain concepts, work through examples, and generate practice questions. The following tips will help you decide when using AI as a tutor is a good idea.

  • When using AI as a tutor, it is important to verify key concepts and definitions against the textbook or course materials, since AI explanations can be confidently wrong. (Human Judgment)
    • Verify key concepts, definitions, equations, and dates against your textbook or notes before you use AI-generated study guides.
    • If AI content contradicts your professor, use your professor’s content.
  • The goal is learning. If after using AI to help with a hard concept, you have answers but cannot reproduce the steps, it did not help you learn. (Human-Centered Benefit)
    • Ask the AI to explain, not to solve.
    • After the explanation, try to describe the concept in your own words from memory.
  • Your prompts often go to companies that may store them. Don't share details you wouldn’t put in a public post. (Data Security & Privacy)
    • Don’t paste classmates’ work, your VT ID, or anything from a non-public document.
    • Use VT-provided AI tools when you can. They’re contracted to handle data more carefully.

Using AI when completing assignments

As covered above, each course should have an AI policy to guide you. The following tips will help you ensure your work aligns with your instructor’s expectations.

  • Submit work that is genuinely yours. (Responsible & Ethical Use)
    • Review the full process you followed. Did every prompt, brainstorm, or edit you used follow the course AI policy?
  • Disclose AI use whenever your course AI policy requires it, and consider disclosing even when it doesn’t. (Fairness & Transparency)
    • Add a disclosure note, e.g., “I used [tool’s name, date used] to brainstorm topics; the writing is mine.”
    • Cite the tool and date used the way you’d cite a source. 
  • Carefully review every word of AI output before submitting an assignment. (Human Judgment)
    • Hallucinations, when a model generates factually incorrect, fabricated, or unsupported content, can result in inaccurate claims and citations. Check cited sources using the library catalog before you trust them.
    • Verify key concepts, definitions, equations, and dates against your textbook or notes.
    • Ensure any AI-generated code produces the desired outcome.
  • Identify the learning objectives for your course. AI can help you work, but it cannot help you learn something you never practiced. (Human-Centered Benefit)
    • Identify which assignments build skills you will need later, e.g., exams, interviews, or essays, and use those assignments to practice without AI.
    • Only use AI for tasks like formatting, proofreading, or brainstorming when those tasks are not themselves the learning objective of the course.

Using AI for internships or job applications

AI rules differ outside the classroom. The following tips will help you determine employers’ expectations.

  • Know how to work with data and protect people’s privacy. (Data Security & Privacy)
    • Ask your supervisor what AI use is permitted at the company. Never use an AI tool to complete your work without knowing whether that use is permissible.
    • Understand your employer’s data-risk standards, and only access data that is absolutely necessary for each task.
  • Answer recruiter’s questions about your AI use and skills honestly. (Fairness & Transparency)
    • Be prepared to describe how you used AI in your coursework and how your experiences using AI apply to the job duties.
    • Disclose if you used AI to write your cover letter or to complete a take-home task.
  • Prepare your application materials with limited AI assistance. (Human Judgment)
    • Employers are becoming skilled at detecting AI-generated cover letters. They tend to list skills but don’t describe why you are the best candidate for the job.
    • Use AI for proofreading; write the substance yourself.

When to stop and get help

In some situations, it may help to consult an instructor, advisor, or the Honor System before you proceed.

  • When the syllabus contradicts itself or what the instructor said in class.
    • Email or message the instructor to ask for clarification, in writing, before you submit anything.
  • When you're under deadline pressure and are tempted to use AI in a way that is not allowed on the syllabus. 
    • Message your instructor about an extension. That conversation almost always goes better than the alternative.
    • Reach out to your academic advisor or Cook Counseling Center for help in managing your stress level and coursework.
  • When you’re not sure whether what you did counts as AI use, e.g., using  Grammarly, autocomplete, or code suggestions. 
    • Ask your instructor before you submit an assignment.
  • When an assignment requires uploading sensitive data.
  • When you realize, after you’ve turned in an assignment, that you may have misused AI. 
    • Talk to your instructor as soon as possible; Ideally before the assignment is graded. Proactive disclosure is always better than being asked about it later.
  • When you have questions about an academic integrity concern related to AI. 
    • The Honor System has processes for both students reporting concerns and students responding to them.

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