[Cce-faculty-list] faculty forum on students' use of AI tools?

Thu Aug 7 10:53:52 EDT 2025

Colleagues,
The attached 2025 article from CMU and Microsoft researchers seems worthy of our consideration:

For a quick explanation, here are summaries from Forbes and Entrepreneur:

  *
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dimitarmixmihov/2025/02/11/ai-is-making-you-dumber-microsoft-researchers-say/<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fdimitarmixmihov%2F2025%2F02%2F11%2Fai-is-making-you-dumber-microsoft-researchers-say%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ccce-faculty-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C2c9b49099e0a42930cf808ddd5c2399a%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C1%7C0%7C638901752882634101%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ldg3i%2Fa0T3mVlVgxMDZlRIJt1mLS8r25IkSBQv%2B0ekg%3D&reserved=0>
  *
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/using-ai-like-chatgpt-damages-critical-thinking-study/486946<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.entrepreneur.com%2Fbusiness-news%2Fusing-ai-like-chatgpt-damages-critical-thinking-study%2F486946&data=05%7C02%7Ccce-faculty-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C2c9b49099e0a42930cf808ddd5c2399a%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C1%7C0%7C638901752882673078%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ONKWIDncID9kkvPiZlNI72zhBPrfMtLS1kaWMxGISX4%3D&reserved=0>

Best,
Phillip

/////////////////////////////////////
Phillip S. Dunston
Director, Office of Professional Practice (OPP)
Professor, Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering (LSCCE)
Purdue University

Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering, Room 1243
550 Stadium Mall Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051
765-494-0640<callto:+1765-494-0640> Office (CE/CEM)
765-494-0644<callto:+1765-494-0644> Fax
https://engineering.purdue.edu/CEM

Office of Professional Practice
Lambertus Hall, Room 2268
363 North Grant St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907
765-496-3598<callto:+1765-496-3598> Office
opp.purdue.edu<https://opp.purdue.edu>
[cid:bbc39fa4-fd53-43ae-ac44-af9ffe4a397f][cid:5dc43441-a0ee-44a2-9e86-106786e4a0fe]
________________________________
From: Cce-faculty-list <cce-faculty-list-bounces at ecn.purdue.edu> on behalf of Theodore J Weidner <tjweidne at purdue.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 4:48 PM
To: Robert B Jacko <jacko at purdue.edu>; Dennis A Lyn <lyn at purdue.edu>; 'CCE-Faculty-list at ecn.purdue.edu' <cce-faculty-list at ecn.purdue.edu>
Subject: Re: [Cce-faculty-list] faculty forum on students' use of AI tools?

Colleagues,

I have used ChatGPT in CEM 40100 – Critical Thinking in Construction Engineering.

I provide a problem to the students, ask them to write their prompt to ChatGPT, receive the response, and then critically analyze the response for thoroughness.

The goal of the problem is to get students to focus on the topic, consider a wide range of issues affecting the topic, and develop a clear argument to arrive at their position.  The ‘easy’ answer is not necessarily the best or most thoughtful answer.

Theodore J. Weidner, Ph.D., PE, RA, NCARB, DBIA, F.ASCE
Professor of Engineering Practice

Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering

Delon and Elizabeth Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering

Purdue University

HAMP 1245

550 Stadium Mall Drive

West Lafayette, IN  47907-2051

tjweidne at purdue.edu<mailto:tjweidne at purdue.edu> | 765-494-2250

[cid:image006.png at 01DC0628.CE742950]<https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE>[facebook-icon]<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPurdueCE&data=05%7C02%7Ccce-faculty-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C2c9b49099e0a42930cf808ddd5c2399a%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C1%7C0%7C638901752882693649%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=TX85OiXuzSHV9a9WIii1v6paU2DvP4lKTWePNIEMzBg%3D&reserved=0>[twitter-icon]<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FPurdueCE&data=05%7C02%7Ccce-faculty-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C2c9b49099e0a42930cf808ddd5c2399a%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C1%7C0%7C638901752882712047%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YS8K8ihBtwccg4Xr7SZjVIQ4WblCtxO2qyYhGw0kGGg%3D&reserved=0>[twitter-icon]<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel%2FUCUItx8DqEeysf9QTdFDvvfg%2Ffeed&data=05%7C02%7Ccce-faculty-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C2c9b49099e0a42930cf808ddd5c2399a%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C1%7C0%7C638901752882730421%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=w%2BIszKt02DPgJkjCkMTQiIeu5fE5%2FnQrRdz07ZT%2FKjQ%3D&reserved=0>

[cid:image005.png at 01DC0628.CE6F9570]

From: Cce-faculty-list <cce-faculty-list-bounces at ecn.purdue.edu> On Behalf Of Robert B Jacko
Sent: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 4:41 PM
To: Dennis A Lyn <lyn at purdue.edu>; 'CCE-Faculty-list at ecn.purdue.edu' <cce-faculty-list at ecn.purdue.edu>
Subject: Re: [Cce-faculty-list] faculty forum on students' use of AI tools?

Dennis and Colleagues,  Last year I required the use of ChatGpt in my CE 557, Air Quality Management class and it was very instructive and eye opening to all the students.  I plan to require it this fall semester again.  Attached is the portion of my syllabus specifying the rules about the use of ChatGpt FYI.

Bob

_______________________

Robert B. Jacko,Ph.D., P.E.

Professor of Civil Engineering

School of Civil and Construction Engineering

Purdue University

550 Stadium Mall Drive

West Lafayette, IN 47907

765-494-2199

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1561 bytes
Desc: image002.gif
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0003.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1540 bytes
Desc: image003.gif
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0004.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1693 bytes
Desc: image004.gif
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0005.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.png
Type: image/png
Size: 30363 bytes
Desc: image005.png
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2644 bytes
Desc: image006.png
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0004.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Outlook-hilhvi1q.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4840 bytes
Desc: Outlook-hilhvi1q.jpg
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Outlook-dqweofzm.png
Type: image/png
Size: 3460 bytes
Desc: Outlook-dqweofzm.png
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0005.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: lee_2025_ai_critical_thinking_survey.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 1018898 bytes
Desc: lee_2025_ai_critical_thinking_survey.pdf
URL: </ECN/mailman/archives/cce-faculty-list/attachments/20250807/7fcb477d/attachment-0001.pdf>