Master’s students define their own rules for AI use in field reports

Can students use AI tools responsibly in academic assignments? In the Environmental Field Studies course, master’s students recently got to decide for themselves.

As part of a short classroom experiment, students were asked to create rules for how AI could be used when preparing their group field reports. These written assignments are graded pass/fail and are meant to help students process information gathered in the field, practice academic writing, and present data clearly.

There was a lively discussion in the group, with a range of views—including one student who proposed banning AI entirely. In the end, the class voted on a set of shared rules and reached a consensus that allows limited, task-specific use of AI tools.

Photo: Stella Papadopoulou

Agreed rules for AI use

Permitted:
•   Rewording existing sentences
•   Assisting in reaching word count
•   Grammar checking
•   Coding assistance
•   Literature summarisation (when appropriate)

Restrictions:
•   No AI-generated new content
•   No use of AI to answer general or broad questions
•   All AI-generated content must be fact-checked and verified
•   AI should be used only as a support tool—students must still conduct additional research

Documentation requirement

Students must include a short statement at the end of each section of their report describing how AI was used.

Example: “In the results section, AI was used to help with coding and to check grammar of the passage.”

The goal of the exercise was to prompt critical thinking about digital tools, academic integrity, and the real purpose of student assignments. It was also a chance for students to reflect on how AI can assist learning—without replacing it.

Theme

Climate and Environment

Last updated: May 13, 2025

Source: Department of Environmental Science

eventNewsArticle

standard-article

false

{
  "dimensions": [
    {
      "id": "department.categorydimension.subject",
      "name": "Global categories",
      "enumerable": true,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "department.categorydimension.tag.Keywords",
      "name": "Keywords",
      "enumerable": false,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "department.categorydimension.tag.Person",
      "name": "Person",
      "enumerable": false,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "department.categorydimension.tag.Tag",
      "name": "Tag",
      "enumerable": false,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Category",
      "name": "News Category (Webb 2021)",
      "enumerable": true,
      "entities": [
        {
          "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Category.education.news",
          "name": "Education",
          "entities": [],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        },
        {
          "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Category.about_us.news",
          "name": "About the university",
          "entities": [],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        }
      ],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Label",
      "name": "Etiketter (Webb 2021)",
      "enumerable": true,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Label.en",
      "name": "Labels (Webb 2021)",
      "enumerable": true,
      "entities": [
        {
          "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Label.en.ClimateEnv",
          "name": "Climate and Environment",
          "entities": [],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        }
      ],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "webb2021.categorydimension.Keyword",
      "name": "Keywords (Webb 2021)",
      "enumerable": false,
      "entities": [],
      "localizations": {}
    },
    {
      "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat",
      "name": "Lokala kategorier Eng",
      "enumerable": true,
      "entities": [
        {
          "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat.news",
          "name": "Local news",
          "entities": [
            {
              "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat.news.utb",
              "name": "Education",
              "entities": [],
              "attributes": [],
              "childrenOmitted": false,
              "localizations": {}
            }
          ],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        },
        {
          "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat.news",
          "name": "Local news",
          "entities": [
            {
              "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat.news.om",
              "name": "About the department",
              "entities": [],
              "attributes": [],
              "childrenOmitted": false,
              "localizations": {}
            }
          ],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        },
        {
          "id": "Miljovetenskap.eng.lokala.kat.news",
          "name": "Local news",
          "entities": [],
          "attributes": [],
          "childrenOmitted": false,
          "localizations": {}
        }
      ],
      "localizations": {}
    }
  ]
}