Developing AI-Literacy Activities for Meaningful Learning in Tutorials and Labs

Asteaching assistants, you are often the first point of contact for students asthey experiment, question, and work through new ideas and tools. This makesyour role especially important in helping students develop not only conceptualknowledge, but also the ability to engage with emerging technologies likegenerative AI (GenAI) in a thoughtful, critical, and responsible way. 

Thissession is designed to support you in bridging course goals with practical,day-to-day learning experiences in labs and tutorials. By focusing on AIliteracy, you will gain concrete strategies to help students criticallyevaluate AI-generated content, recognize the ethical and social stakes of AIsystems, and integrate discipline-specific activities that foster confidenceand discernment in using these tools, as well as foundational understanding ofcourse material.

 Thissession's approach will be guided by the University of Toronto Libraries’ AI LiteracyFramework and the GenAILiteracy Course Modules from Open UToronto, which together emphasizethree interconnected dimensions of AI literacy: understanding, using,and evaluating AI tools. This foundation ensures that activitiesyou design are not just about functionality, but also about developing criticalawareness and responsible engagement in relation to course content. Together,these resources provide a scaffold for activity design that is evidence-based,adaptable, and aligned with the values of ethical, equitable teaching andlearning.