S1E1: Academic Integrity in the Age of AI

As an educator, what do you do when AI can now complete your prior assignments? In this episode, Jennifer Maddrell, PhD, shares how testing and redesigning her own assignment changed her approach to academic integrity in the age of AI. She frames it as a design challenge that educators have professional judgment to tackle. This episode explores five design questions to help educators explore academic integrity as a learning experience design challenge, not a policing problem: Is your assignment AI-vulnerable? Are you assessing the product or the process of learning? What does this assignment require that AI can't easily replicate? How clear are your expectations for AI use? What does your approach to academic integrity signal to students about classroom culture? Jennifer also walks through how she redesigned her own literature review without banning AI or using detection software. She concludes with what surprised her along the way: "I started feeling like I was teaching again." Links mentioned: 🔗 Free Design Brief + AI Assignment Vulnerability Audit: nextpathdesign.com/designbriefs 📬 Next Path Insights Newsletter: nextpathdesign.com/newsletter 🌐 All Next Path Design offerings: nextpathdesign.com/join 00:00 Introduction 00:54 Testing My Own Assignment With AI 01:49 The Academic Integrity Pain Point 02:14 Policing vs. Redesigning 03:28 Why Detection Falls Short 04:55 Framing AI as a Design Problem 06:04 Your Beliefs About AI Matter 07:12 Design Question 1: Is Your Assignment AI-Vulnerable? 08:08 Design Question 2: Product or Process? 09:57 Design Question 3: What AI Can't Replicate 11:01 Design Question 4: Clear Expectations 12:59 Design Question 5: Classroom Culture and Signals 13:59 Redesigning the Literature Review 17:35 Wrap-Up, Resources, and Next Episode About AI for Educators Design Lab A podcast for educators, instructional designers, and learning leaders exploring how to design meaningful learning experiences when AI changes everything. New episodes are released twice monthly.