Being Intelligent with Artificial Intelligence

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the way we live and work together, Dordt faculty and alumni recognize the need to consider its implications.

Dr. Leah Zuidema ('96), vice president for academic affairs, says, “While students are here at Dordt and also for all their lives afterward, AI will radically change their work, their communities, their family lives, their churches, and perhaps even their understanding of themselves and what it means to be human.”

Whether in classrooms on campus or in the vocational fields of alumni, Defender Nation is engaging with AI in ways that promote the flourishing of others.

Teaching with AI

Dordt faculty members are already finding ways to integrate tools and conversations surrounding AI into their teaching. Dr. Dave Mulder ('98), professor of education, teaches a course on technology and education, where the role of AI in the classroom is a common theme.

One of the key topics in his course is identifying the potential pitfalls of AI. Mulder says, “At this point, I think that some of the most significant challenges surrounding AI are not technical problems, but rather human problems. Many teachers are concerned about cheating or short-circuiting learning. I think those are very real problems, but cheating is not a new problem at all: it is an old, human problem. We are just looking at the way new technology can amplify those problems.”

Mulder emphasizes that teachers-in-training should not only recognize potential problems with AI but also identify how it can positively impact students’ learning. “One of the challenges teachers face is having enough time to do all of the things that are part of our job expectations,” says Mulder. “There are ethical, responsible ways that teachers can use generative AI to help reduce the time spent on some tasks so they can focus on the real work that only humans can do.”

For example, Mulder uses AI to create rubrics, a task that can take him up to an hour on his own. “Instead, if I take five minutes to carefully craft a prompt, AI can create my rubric in a matter of seconds,” Mulder explains. While he still takes time to review and adapt the rubrics to fit his specific needs, using AI to draft rubrics frees up time for personalizing student learning through tasks like giving thorough feedback to students and planning lessons.

Mulder says it is important to prepare teachers who are passionate about their work and dedicated to fostering a love of learning in students. “There is a temptation for us to outsource the creative work to the machines, because it seems ‘easier’ somehow,” explains Mulder. “However, there truly is a sense of satisfaction we have as humans when we know we’ve worked hard at something, using our gifts and talents to the utmost of our ability, and to God’s glory. I think that students need to learn that hard work is a good thing for us.

Mulder’s perspective of the role of AI in teacher preparation at Dordt aligns with the work Nathan De Groot (‘11) is doing at Central Valley Christian School (CVC) in Visalia, California. De Groot has worked closely with the school’s director of technology to create an AI policy that aligns with the school’s mission to “equip and inspire hearts and minds to transform the world for Christ.” The policy addresses two central concerns: “First, teachers need fluency and knowledge. Second, AI isn’t going away, so we do need to help students discern appropriate use of AI in their learning."

For De Groot, technology integration is not just about training teachers but providing ongoing coaching. “Having an individual help identify areas of improvement, brainstorm ideas, develop projects, and reflect on the process has a greater effect than a simple training session would,” he explains.

Through De Groot, CVC teachers have access to professional learning sessions about AI, a list of vetted AI tools for the classroom, and frequent newsletters focused on AI tools and demonstrations. De Groot also leads monthly small-group sessions to explore new technologies.

When it comes to students, De Groot stresses the importance of providing the right tools and guidance to help their creativity and learning flourish. “Sometimes we might not see ourselves as creative people because we don’t recognize what creativity is,” he reflects. “The right tools, including technology and AI, can help students reframe their understanding of creativity and empower them to solve problems in innovative ways.”

However, De Groot notes that CVC is careful to caution both teachers and students of the temptation to over-rely on technology. “We want to establish the use of AI as a companion to learning rather than a replacement, and the policy has really clear language and examples of what that means,” says De Groot.

Laying the Groundwork

To ensure students are prepared for AI’s role in various settings, Dordt faculty members like Dr. Tom Prinsen ('90), professor of business and communication, are dedicated to equipping students for the way AI will shape their lives outside of the classroom. “One of the things it has changed is expectations for productivity,” says Prinsen. “Regardless of field, whenever new technology is introduced, the time required for a job is expected to be reduced, and that’s also true with ChatGPT and public relations. Now, with AI, you should be able to write more stories.”

With that in mind, Prinsen encourages his students to find opportunities to use AI to better steward their time. For example, if he assigns students a speech, he expects them to write and deliver a great speech, but he also asks them to use APA style. “We still teach what APA is, but the reason we have the works cited is so that we can verify and refer to sources later on," he says. "AI can help with tasks like finding missing commas to meet APA guidelines, allowing students to focus on rehearsing their speeches instead."

While Prinsen supports AI usage, he thinks it might shift us from creators to editors. “Storytelling could become more formulaic and less human,” he says.

Prinsen challenges his students, as communicators seeking to reflect both truth and God’s creativity, to find opportunities to utilize their unique body of knowledge and life experiences to share stories. “Then we can use AI to give us feedback instead of it generating ideas for us,” adds Prinsen.

AI has also opened opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate. “Students use AI in ways we hadn’t thought of,” says Prinsen.

One example of this collaboration is his ongoing research with Toys for Tots, where Prinsen and his research partner as well as Dordt students estimate the total value of toys collected by the foundation. “Students started asking how we could use AI in this,” Prinsen explains. “We weren’t using it yet, so we asked them to suggest ways AI could help us complete the research accurately and efficiently. They have come up with some very helpful ideas."

As students and faculty explore AI’s possibilities on campus, Dordt graduates are putting those possibilities into practice in their careers. Roland Osae-Oppong (’11) serves as the Global Media Strategist at Salesforce. In his line of work, data collection and analytics are key strengths of artificial intelligence. “Working within technology companies the last six to eight years, I’ve seen the intersection of AI’s creation and application,” says Osae-Oppong. “Not only are we able to keep up with content creation, but we’re also able to identify what’s working and analyze it. Collecting and processing data used to be tedious, and we had to make a lot of assumptions. Now we can do it faster and more accurately—and we can avoid repeating things that aren’t productive. AI is really helpful for that.”

For Osae-Oppong and others in the technology industry, meeting the growing demand for engaging, relatable content is a top priority—and AI has created new opportunities to do so more efficiently. However, he acknowledges that AI can’t do it all. “At the end of the day, AI’s output is only as good as the input we give it,” he says.

One way AI still requires human oversight, says Osae-Oppong, is in ethical decision-making. “Whether those are concerns of plagiarism or copyright infringement, AI doesn’t have an ethical capacity,” he says. “AI also has bias that we have to be aware of and be ready to adjust for. The world is changing quickly, and there’s no ‘pure’ image or concept of what something or someone should be, so we’ve got to be ready to reconcile the bias AI can reflect based on the data it’s trained on.”

Looking to the future, Osae-Oppong believes it’s crucial to maintain a balance between efficiency and human flourishing. “I don’t want AI controlling everything and influencing all decisions. For example, if we have AI-generated news, we have to consider who’s behind it and what perspectives it’s promoting.”

“Still, we should find ways to embrace AI,” he continues. “The sooner we understand and engage with it, the better equipped we’ll be to use it responsibly and more fully explore how it can improve our lives.”

A Faith-Focused Framework for AI

Reflecting on Dordt’s institutional mission to “equip students, alumni, and the community for Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life,” development of an AI task force at Dordt was a natural step. Dr. Tim Klein ('05), professor of business administration, is leading the task force, which is comprised of five faculty members representing each division of faculty. “The task force has developed a framework that looks at how Dordt will address AI in ways benefiting students and faculty in their academics on campus,” says Klein. “The framework also looks into the negative effects of AI and why it is important to view AI through a lens that puts our faith before efficiency.”

Still in draft form, the framework includes, among other things, a look at how it is important for AI to enhance the relationships between members of the community, how AI should reflect a commitment to truth as a virtue, and how AI should not be used as a dishonest portrayal of our work and assessments.

In addition to developing the framework, the task force will spend the upcoming year equipping faculty with opportunities for professional development, curriculum mapping, CORE competencies, and developing a plan to continue addressing the implications of new technology in the future.

Zuidema believes that at Dordt, faculty and staff have "the overarching vision, the foundational documents, the structures and processes, and the people in place to help organize and lead us into this new area of learning as a university.” With this strong foundation, Dordt is prepared to guide its community through the challenges and opportunities AI presents, continuing to promote the flourishing of others in all areas of life.