Teaching Sketches
Assignments, discussion setups, and classroom experiments. The common thread: using AI in situations where critical thinking is the actual point, not an afterthought.
What Does Cilantro Taste Like?
- comparing outputs across model sizes
- understanding how temperature and sampling affect responses
- recognizing that "AI" is not a single thing
A hands-on demo using AI Playground to show how model size and settings change what AI says — using one simple, relatable question.
Argument Audit
- revising thesis claims
- anticipating counterarguments
- recognizing vague reasoning
Students use AI-generated objections to test whether a thesis is vague, vulnerable, or genuinely persuasive.
Remixing Plato
- close reading through transformation
- analyzing how meaning shifts across forms
- prompting as a rhetorical skill
Students translate, reshape, or re-perform a Platonic dialogue through AI — then analyze what changed and why.
Citation Test
- verifying sources in library databases
- distinguishing real from fabricated citations
- questioning authority of polished prose
Students verify AI-generated citations one by one and turn fabricated sources into a lesson about evidence and authority.
Historical Source Evaluation
- comparing interpretations of a source
- identifying how framing shapes meaning
- applying historical thinking frameworks
Students prompt AI to analyze a short newspaper article from 1892 and compare results across accounts and incognito mode.