Just Say Anything!

What Students Wish Their Teachers Did About GenAI

Abstract

The rapid rise of generative AI (GenAI) technologies, such as ChatGPT, has become a regular part of students’ lives. This paper explores what engineering students at Lunds Tekniska Högskola (LTH) want their teachers to say or do about GenAI. The data were gathered from two sources: surveys conducted during the student union’s, Teknologkåren vid Lunds Tekniska Högskola (TLTH), Speak Up Days (SUD) in 2023 and 2024, and a series of student workshops held in the spring of 2024. The results show a clear gap between students’ use of GenAI and how often it is acknowledged by teachers. Most students use GenAI but feel unsure about how to use it in their courses and what the guidelines are. Students report that most teachers never mention GenAI in any capacity and if they do, the focus is on plagiarism and cheating. What students want their teachers to say or do varies, but students agree that GenAI needs to be discussed in the classroom. The main takeaway is simple: students say that any conversation about GenAI is better than silence.