{"id":1118,"date":"2025-10-09T09:51:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/?page_id=1118"},"modified":"2026-01-29T08:52:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T13:52:49","slug":"social-sciences-humanities-classroom-resources-examples","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/social-sciences-humanities-classroom-resources-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Sciences &#038; Humanities Classroom Resources &#038; Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Looking for sample AI usage policies and syllabi? Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/syllabi-and-policies\/\">Sample AI Usage Policies &amp; Syllabi<\/a> webpage.<\/p>\n<h2>Teaching Writing with Generative AI<\/h2>\n<p>BU writing instructors brainstormed this list of teaching ideas in the spirit of exploration and experimentation.<\/p>\n<p>Broadly speaking, instructors may want to keep the following goals in mind when working with AI as they plan assignments and activities:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Better understanding of the<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><b>role of AI<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span>in writing and research pedagogy;<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Building<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><b>AI expertise<\/b><span>\u00a0a<\/span><span>mong faculty and informing future AI policies for different assignments, courses, and programs;<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Understanding<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><b>what students know<\/b><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>about AI and how they use AI;<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Developing students\u2019<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><b>AI literacy<\/b><span>\u00a0<\/span><span>and fostering a critical, ethical disposition toward AI.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>View <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/teaching-writing\/resources\/teaching-writing-with-generative-ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">their website<\/a> for more information and additional activities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h6 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Featured Activities<\/h6><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>AI and Ideation:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/teaching-writing\/resources\/ai-intensive-mind-mapping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This activity<\/a> introduces mind mapping, a practice in which students explore and develop their research topic and determine its core concepts. As students explore, the instructor provides instruction to help students identify questions by type and to search thoughtfully and strategically for sources from contextual background information to academic scholarship. This activity may be used to introduce BU Libraries Search and search string formation. This workshop is most impactful when delivered as students begin a research project.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AI and Information Literacy:<\/strong> The objective of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/teaching-writing\/resources\/forming-research-questions-ai-assisted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this activity<\/a> is to use AI tools to generate, refine, and expand research questions related to education and social issues. This exercise will help you develop a meaningful, researchable topic for your upcoming assignments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>AI &amp; Gen AI Overview<\/h2>\n<p>Margaret Wallace discusses AI &amp; GenAI literacy, pedagogy, foundations, ethical considerations, and more in the below <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/05\/MargaretWallace_GenAI101_final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/05\/MargaretWallace_GenAI101_final.pdf\" rel=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/05\/MargaretWallace_GenAI101_final.pdf\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-636x357.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1359 size-medium\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-636x357.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview-992x558.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/files\/2025\/10\/MargaretWallaceAIGenAIOverview.png 1272w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Writing, Philosophy, &amp; Ethics<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Christopher McVey\u2019s course WR152 tackles some of the most urgent philosophical and ethical questions surrounding AI. As GenAI and machine learning increasingly shape fields like medicine, finance, media, and personal relationships, McVey\u2019s students explore how AI is transforming society and what that means for our concepts of truth, agency, love, and even what it means to be human. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through interdisciplinary discussion and independent research projects, students examine topics ranging from algorithmic bias and AI governance to robot rights and AI consciousness. The course draws a diverse mix of students across STEM and the humanities, encouraging fresh, critical perspectives on AI\u2019s role in our world. Student research projects over the last three years have spanned a wide array of writing topics, based on what they are interested in, allowing students majoring in data science, computer science, or engineering to explore their interests just as much as those in social sciences and humanities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h6 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Essay: McVey Reflects on Implementing AI<\/h6><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/theimportantwork.substack.com\/p\/the-case-for-slowing-down\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Case for Slowing Down<\/span><\/a>, McVey shares the benefits, challenges, and insights of implementing GenAI into his class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h6 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Harvard Business Impact Article: McVey Shares 3 Lessons Learned While Using AI<\/h6><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/hbsp.harvard.edu\/inspiring-minds\/3-key-lessons-essay-writing-ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Writing Assignments Still Matter in the Age of AI<\/span><\/a>, McVey offers advice and guidance on how to use AI in writing assignments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h6 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Intentional Teaching Podcast<\/h6><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p>In the podcast episode, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2069949\/episodes\/16891251-ai-teaching-fellows-with-christopher-mcvey-and-neeza-singh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AI Teaching Fellows with Christopher McVey and Neeza Singh<\/a>, McVey and <\/span>Neeza Singh share their experience the BU writing program&#8217;s AI Affiliate Fellowship program and how other disciplines could introduce something similar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Fashion as History<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Arianne Chernock\u2019s class CAS HI 451, students use LLM\u2019s to produce an essay on a historical event or topic, and then the students use this in critical reading and source-checking, engaging in the methods of historiography and deeper analysis. This class teaches prompt design, and its importance in shaping the output and refinement of the genAI which is essential for close reading and source-related issues in the study of history.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h6 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Assignment example:<\/h6><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the genAI assignment, students are prompted to enter the following into ChatGPT: \u201cWrite a 500-word essay explaining what cotton teaches us about the history of fashion.\u201d They are told to read carefully the essay that ChatGPT produces, and then write their own 500-word analysis of ChatGPT\u2019s essay, engaging with the three readings they had previously done. Comprehension questions are provided, asking about the strengths, weaknesses, accuracies, and inaccuracies of the response generated by ChatGPT, therefore challenging students to challenge or qualify the genAI\u2019s response and think about new dimensions that may have been ignored or disregarded.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong>Designing a Stuttering Chatbot: A Speech-Language Pathologist\u2019s Exploration of AI for Clinical Training<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">In her first two years as a clinical lecturer, Caroline Brinkert turned to AI with curiosity as she attempted to find and define her teaching philosophy. Drawing on her clinical background as a speech-language pathologist, she designed AI-based simulations\u2014including a custom chatbot that stuttered\u2014to help graduate students practice counseling skills in realistic, emotionally charged scenarios. This reflection explores how embracing generative AI transformed Caroline&#8217;s novice teaching practice and established her identity as an educator. <\/span><i style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Rather than replacing the human elements of teaching, AI helped reveal them- offering space for risk and resulting in growth<\/i><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" id=\"x_Signature\">\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Full paper can be found here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.journals.uc.edu\/index.php\/jrpct\/article\/view\/8797\/7031\" title=\"https:\/\/www.journals.uc.edu\/index.php\/jrpct\/article\/view\/8797\/7031\" data-outlook-id=\"c92c8064-5ec5-401e-9c29-e5fe5e46c7c3\">https:\/\/www.journals.uc.edu\/index.php\/jrpct\/article\/view\/8797\/7031<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looking for sample AI usage policies and syllabi? Visit our Sample AI Usage Policies &amp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16894,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"bu-landing","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1118"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1118"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1628,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1118\/revisions\/1628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/aida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}