Meagan Malone, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of English, will present a series of Using AI in the Classroom workshops this spring.How do you use generative AI in the classroom? The answer to that question, like the AI models themselves, can change over time.
At least, that is what has happened to Meagan Malone, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of English and presenter of the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Using AI in the Classroom workshops. The first workshop of the spring 2026 semester focuses on academic integrity at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the CTL’s space in Lister Hill Library, Room 411. See the full schedule below.
“It’s not the enemy, but it needs to be used strategically”
Malone teaches first-year composition and upper-level professional writing courses. She also runs a website and blog called Composing in the Age of GenAI, in which she shares her own classroom experiences and “keeps up with the evolving research on the pedagogical side,” she said. That includes research on student outcomes when using different kinds of prompting frameworks, how to prepare students to maintain a healthy skepticism of AI outputs and “how we hold students accountable,” Malone said.
Malone’s own practices have evolved over the past several semesters as generative AI has swept through classrooms worldwide. “I have become way more tight-reined in what it looks like in my classroom for lower-level students and way more liberal with its usage in these upper-level classes,” Malone said.
“This is the first semester that I have said, for my foundational classes, we will be a tech-free classroom 75 percent of the time,” Malone said. “I have the students draft their assignments in class on a lockdown browser, and they need to take notes with a pen or pencil on paper. And then about 25 percent of the time, I have them bring in their laptops and use AI. Studies have shown that you need to teach students how to use gen AI before they can get enough out of it. You need to be skeptical about the output, know what you are talking about, negotiate what you want, and not assume that what it gives you is right, good and true. It’s not the enemy, but it needs to be used strategically.”
“This is good; I need this”
For the most part, students appreciate this structure, Malone has found. “Students want clarity on how to use it,” she said. “It’s not punitive. I hear students say, ‘This is good; I need this. I’m nervous, because I’ve been using ChatGPT so much. But I’m excited to do this.’”
One of Malone’s students recently published a reflection on the “Composing in the Age of Gen AI” blog “where she says, ‘I used it all throughout high school for coding and then I realized I had no skills,’” Malone said. “She advocated for banning AI in lower-level classes and then strategically integrating its use in upper-level classes.”
The trouble is that “students are so excited about taking the first thing that comes their way,” Malone said. “The biggest intervention we can do to help mold their minds is to force them to find fault with what it gives them. Not necessarily to find something that’s wrong, because errors are fewer and farther between now. But it has no truth value; you have to be locked in to parry with it and go back and forth. But students don’t just come ready with that knowledge of how to do that.”
In the workshops, Malone shares examples of the early semester units she includes in her courses that give students a technical overview of how generative AI works.
Ohio State University “is doing an incredible job with this,” Malone added. “They have a class for freshmen that has AI literacy embedded into it. That also means there is a home for AI literacy when it comes to students, instead of leaving it up to individual instructors; I think that is incredibly powerful.”
In upper-level classes, students use AI — with guardrails
In her advanced classes, Malone encourages students to use gen AI tools during some assignments. “I’ll share prompts I have used and what they include,” she said. “But I still emphasize that you can’t just treat it like a search engine.”
In EH320, Malone’s course on multimodal writing, students “are allowed to use it on major projects and to help them conceptualize and revise designs, but I ask them not to use it when they do their course readings for homework and when they record their short reflective voice memos after their readings,” she said. “I designed the homework assignments to be AI-resistant and ask students to do this work themselves. They read and are required to write notes to track their understanding. Then they have to record a two- to four-minute voice memo on Canvas where they reflect extemporaneously on what they’ve read using a set of questions. I grade in part on whether their response sounds scripted. They are instructed to plan, not script their responses.”
Using AI in the Classroom workshop schedule, spring 2026
Malone enjoys sharing her experiences and offering guidance to faculty in workshops. “I like hearing about other faculty’s experiences as well,” she said. “In some ways, faculty are always working in a bit of a vacuum. You meet colleagues who explain, ‘Here’s how I got something great.’ That allows all these creative ideas to come out.”
Note: These workshops are designed for current UAB teaching faculty, instructors of record, academic advisors and other student-facing staff members. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are invited to attend the CTL LIFT series workshops instead.
Using AI in the Classroom: Academic Integrity
Description: Perhaps one of the most frequently expressed concerns about the widespread use of artificial intelligence applications is the potential impact on academic integrity. Join this workshop to learn about the latest conversations on the topic and discover steps you can take to mitigate the situation in your classroom.
1-2:30 p.m. Jan. 28, LHL 411; register online
Using AI in the Classroom: Experiences of Three Teaching Faculty
Description: Curious about how AI is actually being used in real classrooms? Join us for a dynamic and insightful session featuring three faculty members who are using generative AI in their teaching. You’ll hear firsthand how they integrated the technology into their learning objectives, how they introduced the tool to their students and how it is going — challenges, successes and everything in between.
1-2:30 p.m. Feb. 11, LHL 411; register online
Using AI in the Classroom: Reimagining Learning & Assessment in the AI-Age
Description: Generative AI challenges us to rethink not just individual assignments but the very ways we design, assess and structure learning experiences across disciplines. This session suggests new directions for moving beyond traditional papers, exams and other familiar formats toward richer, more authentic demonstrations of student learning. We’ll explore models such as multimodal assignments, in-class revision practices, alternatives to essays, and reflective work that incorporates and critiques AI use.
1-2:30 p.m. Feb. 25, Sterne Library room 174; register online
Using AI in the Classroom: Redesign Your Assignments/Your Course
Description: Join fellow educators in hands-on sessions where you’ll discover innovative ways to leverage AI tools, fostering creativity and efficiency in assignment design and overall course structure. Walk away with practical skills to infuse AI into your teaching, empowering you to redefine educational experiences for both you and your students.
1-2:30 p.m. March 25, LHL 411; register online