Designing an AI policy

An experiment in co-creation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i1.5836

Keywords:

artificial, AI, writing studies, threshold concepts

Abstract

We present a case study of co-creating a policy for the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in a writing course at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Students and faculty in two sections of a required 1st-year writing course worked to draft and respond to a policy about AI and then reflected on the experience. Student reflections suggested that the experience not only engaged students in a meaningful inquiry into AI, but also introduced them to key threshold concepts in both student partnership work and writing studies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Maggie Debelius, Georgetown University

Maggie Debelius is the Senior Director of Faculty Initiatives at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University, where she also serves as a professor of English and of Learning, Design and Technology.

Molly Chehak, Georgetown University

Molly Chehak is the Director of Digital Learning Pedagogy at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University, and has been an instructor in the Writing Program since 2007.

References

Adler-Kassner, L., & Wardle, E. (Eds.). (2016). Naming what we know, classroom edition: Threshold concepts of writing studies. Utah State University Press.

Adler-Kassner, L., & Wardle, E. (Eds.). (2020). (Re)considering what we know: Learning thresholds in writing, composition, rhetoric, and literacy. Utah State University Press.

Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., Felten, P., Millard, L., & Moore-Cherry, N. (2016). “Addressing potential challenges in co-creating learning and teaching: Overcoming resistance, navigating institutional norms and ensuring inclusivity in student–staff partnerships.” Higher Education, 71(2), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-015-9896-4

Cook-Sather, A., Bahti, M., & Ntem, A. (2019). Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-to Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education. Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. https://doi.org/10.36284/celelon.oa1

Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: A guide for faculty. Wiley.

Cook-Sather, A., & Luz, A. (2015). Greater engagement in and responsibility for learning: What happens when students cross the threshold of student–faculty partnership. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(6), 1097–1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2014.911263

Dobrin, Sidney. (2024). AI and Writing. Broadview Press.

Dwivedi Y. K., Kshetri, N., Hughes, L., Slade, E. L., Jeyaraj, A., Kar, A. K., Baabdullah, A. M., Koohang, A., Raghavan, V., Ahuja, M., Albanna, H., Albashrawi, M. A., Al-Busaidi, A. S., Balakrishnan, J., Barlette, Y., Basu, S., Bose, I., Brooks, L., Buhalis, D., … & Wright, R. (2023). Opinion Paper: “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges, and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice, and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 71, 102642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102642

Estrem, Heidi. (2016). Naming what we know, classroom edition: Threshold concepts of writing studies. (L. Adler-Kassner and E. Wardle, Eds.) Utah State University Press.

Lunsford, Andrea. (2016). Naming what we know, classroom edition: Threshold concepts of writing studies. (L. Adler-Kassner and E. Wardle, Eds.) Utah State University Press.

Meyer, J. H. F., & Land, R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. In ISL10 Improving Student Learning: Theory and Practice Ten Years On (pp. 412-424). Oxford Brookes University.

Mollick, Ethan. (2024). Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. Portfolio.

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT 4 (May 2024 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Roozen, Kevin. (2016). Naming what we know, classroom edition: Threshold concepts of writing studies. (L. Adler-Kassner and E. Wardle, Eds.) Utah State University Press.

Taczak, Kara. (2016). Naming what we know, classroom edition: Threshold concepts of writing studies. (L. Adler-Kassner and E. Wardle, Eds.) Utah State University Press.

Yousufi, Mohsin. (2024). Debating the Ethics of Generative AI. Harvard AI pedagogy project. https://aipedagogy.org/assignment/debating-the-ethics-of-generative-ai/

Downloads

Published

2025-05-19

How to Cite

Debelius, M., Chehak, M., Le, K., Oh, S., Lyons, S., Kim, G., … Holtschlag, J. (2025). Designing an AI policy: An experiment in co-creation. International Journal for Students as Partners, 9(1), 151–160. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i1.5836

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Case Studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Maggie Debelius, Molly Chehak, Kenny Li, Sophia Oh, Sarah Lyons, Grace Kim, Hugo Nutting, Jake Holtschlag

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).