Faculty and Staff AI Resource Repository

AI as a Teaching Assistant: Best Practices

Leverage AI to enhance teaching effectiveness while reducing administrative workload.

Harness AI as your virtual teaching assistant to enhance your teaching effectiveness while reducing administrative burden. Learn how to implement AI support without compromising educational quality.

Harness AI as your virtual teaching assistant to enhance your teaching effectiveness while reducing administrative burden. Here's how to implement AI support without compromising educational quality.


Use AI to handle routine student queries by creating a custom FAQ system. Feed your syllabus, assignment instructions, and common questions into an AI tool to create quick, accurate responses. This provides students with 24/7 support while freeing you to focus on more complex issues.


Implement AI for first-draft feedback on student work. Set up specific criteria and have AI provide initial comments on technical aspects like structure, citation format, and basic content requirements. This gives students faster feedback while allowing you to focus on deeper analysis.


Create personalized study guides using AI. Input your lecture content and have AI generate tailored study materials based on individual student performance patterns. This helps students focus on areas needing improvement while maintaining consistent quality.


Use AI to track participation and engagement patterns in online discussions or activities. This can help identify students who might need additional support before they fall behind.


Remember to maintain clear boundaries - students should know when they're interacting with AI versus you. The goal is to enhance, not replace, the instructor-student relationship.

AI can effectively serve as a teaching assistant by handling routine tasks and providing preliminary support, allowing instructors to focus on higher-value interactions with students.