How are Students Using AI?
A Research Toolkit for Faculty
Annette Vee, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh
Workshop hosted by W.W. Norton
Nov 11, 2025
There's a lot of data out there now on student uses of AI, but the best data is your data. This workshop shares available data on student uses of AI, plus survey questions, study methodologies and ideas for learning more about your students and AI! Knowing how your students are engaging with AI is part of designing AI-aware courses and assignments.
I used AI while creating this presentation: GammaAI translated an internal white paper into some slides, redesigned some text slides, and supplied some images. Midjourney supplied some images. Claude translated some of my writing and analysis into slide text.
Refuse? Resist? Embrace? Engage?
No matter what your emotional relationship with AI is, it's important to know what your students are doing and thinking about AI.
AI-Aware Teaching
AI-aware teaching is understanding the ways students and faculty use AI, as well as AI’s capabilities and drawbacks in educational contexts, and then using that knowledge to craft courses that meet learning objectives.
We may not be able to control the degree of AI’s encroachment in writing environments our students use, but we can control how we structure our own course’s engagement with AI.
With an AI-aware approach, you can choose the path that works best for you and your students.
So…
What do we know about students' uses of AI?
Is everyone really cheating their way through college??
NO.
It's not that simple.

Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

Survey: College Students’ Views on AI

Key findings from Inside Higher Ed’s student survey on generative AI show that using the evolving technology hasn’t diminished the value of college in their view, but it could affect their critical thinking skills.

W.W. Norton Newsletter: How Are Students Using AI?
We'll look beyond the stories and dive into data
This presentation will cover…
Industry Reports
Insights from leading AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.
Educational Surveys
Findings from organizations dedicated to education, such as Educause.
University of Pittsburgh Research
Original data from surveys and focus groups conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.
Tools for Learning about Your Own Students
Resources and methodologies to help you collect data from your own students.
How prevalent is student use of AI?
Studies vary widely, but it's highly prevalent
Use is increasing dramatically
  • 79% of Gen Z use GenAI, with 47% using it weekly (Walton-GSV-Gallup)
  • 85% of students are using GenAI for coursework (IHE)
  • 43% of students reported not using AI (though likely underreported) (Educause)
  • Teen usage doubled from 13% to 26% between 2023-2024 (Pew Research)
  • UK students: 66% to 92% increase in one year (HEPI); Assessment use jumped from 53% to 88% in one year (HEPI); Text generation doubled from 30% to 64% in one year (HEPI)
We’re probably not seeing the full extent of students' uses of AI.
The detection gap
  • 12% of students admit to using AI when it was disallowed (University of Pittsburgh survey, Dec 2024)
  • Only 30% of students think instructors are fully aware of their AI use (Educause)
  • Students feel confident that their AI use can go undetected by instructors (GenAI Conversations)
  • Only 54% of higher ed leaders feel faculty are good at detecting AI use (AAC&U)
  • 72% of students don't use AI when prohibited, but only 6% avoid it when allowed (Educause)
In other words: AI detection isn't a solution.
How students use GenAI
Brainstorming, outlining
Getting ideas, creating outlines (GenAI Convos, OpenAI, Anthropic, IHE)
Studying
Asking it questions like a tutor, creating study guides and clarifying difficult concepts (IHE, GenAI Convos)
Proofreading
Grammar cleanup, tone polishing, and "humanizing" text (GenAI Convos)
Self-Grading
Asking AI to grade their essays using rubrics (GenAI Convos)
Reading
Summarizing or clarifying texts (OpenAI, GenAI Convos)
Personal Use
Email crafting, lesson plans, travel planning, advice (GenAI Convos, OpenAI)
Coding
Filling knowledge gaps and template coding (GenAI Convos, Anthropic)
Refining ideas and organizing
Talking with AI and organizing ideas (Educause)
Language translation and proofreading
Translating from native language into English or back, for required language courses (Anthropic, GenAI Convos)
Survey data matches data from actual use
Potential cognitive impact of GenAI use
Anthropic identified four patterns by which students interact with AI, each of which were present in our data at approximately equal rates (each 23-29% of conversations):
  • Direct Problem Solving,
  • Direct Output Creation,
  • Collaborative Problem Solving
  • Collaborative Output Creation.
Students primarily use AI systems for creating (using information to learn something new) and analyzing (taking apart the known and identifying relationships), such as creating coding projects or analyzing law concepts. This aligns with higher-order cognitive functions on Bloom’s Taxonomy. This raises questions about ensuring students don’t offload critical cognitive tasks to AI systems.
Anthropic, 2025
When students turn to AI
Some of these moments highlight when students use GenAI less productively - simply to complete work rather than learn.
Deadline Pressure
Stressed with tight deadlines and competing priorities
“If I have an assignment due at midnight and it’s 11 o’clock”
if a task could be checked off “in an easier, non-stressful way”
AI is “really helpful in getting that good grade… quickly do it, and then learn it later on”
Unclear Value
Don't see meaning in "busywork" or Gen Ed requirements
"with, like my like core classes, I try not to use it, just because, like, I act well, I'm like, actually interested in the [subject]. So I don't want to like just like get it over with. But like for like I don't know, like Gen. Eds and stuff…I don't care if I like put it into AI and like and I'm like cheating myself."
Knowledge Limits
Reached the boundaries of their understanding
"I took a class last semester, but I didn't really have the capacity I….I didn't do the readings and so I would sometimes like… like a summary of the book that we were supposed to read to do the discussion board questions."
Avoid Judgement
Feel that instructors aren't helpful or available
"with ChatGPT you can ask how many questions you want and it's not going to judge you"
"me emailing my professor at three in the morning is not productive, but, like, chat will always be there"
Improve Work
Think AI helps them get better grades (50% according to HEPI, 37% for IHE)
"It quite ruined our grade curve, because the people who actually wrote the essays themselves were getting significantly like by at least one letter grade lower than the people in our class who had used AI to fully write the entire essay."
Personalized support
Want to learn more, or standard course materials aren't enough
"I feel like I've actually learned more from AI than I do for my textbooks at times. Like, I feel like my textbooks they kind of give you like a broad description of like what we're learning, but like AI will go into, like examples."
Quotes from GenAI Conversations; Data from HEPI, IHE, Educause, GenAIConvos
Why *aren't* students using AI?
Fear of plagiarism or cheating
  • "To avoid any possibility of being flagged for plagiarism or cheating, I have decided to completely avoid them altogether."
Desire to learn
  • "I want to get better as a writer and I don't think the best way to do that is by using AI."
Distrust of AI
  • "I don't trust the information that these programs generate because I do not know what sources are being used."
  • "There is often misinformation spread in the answers it provides, so I find it best to do research myself or complete my work without it."
Confidence in their own abilities
  • "I just don't find the writing to be that helpful. I think I am better at generating my own ideas compared to the computer."
Ideological objections
"it takes human interaction, thought, and artistic ability out of so many different fields. It's just such a shame that it's being used."
"deepfakes [and] how malignant actors might use them to purposely spread misinformation. Anxiety inducing."
University of Pittsburgh survey, April 2024; GenAI Convos
AI's impact on relationships
Faculty-Student
  • Less likely to visit office hours
  • Prefer AI over admitting confusion or being judged
  • Worry about AI detection tools
  • Suspicious about faculty AI use
  • Consider themselves more knowledgeable than instructors on AI
Peer-to-Peer
  • Frustrated with overreliant peers
  • Can justify own use but not others'
  • Feel awkward about group work and differing approaches to AI
  • Hesitant to challenge others' use
  • Hope for instructor enforcement
GenAI Convos
Students feel conflicted
Can't opt out of AI
"AI is so unnecessary and there's no way to turn it off across platforms like Snapchat and Google."
Getting good grades and deferring learning
GenAI offered a way to meet a deadline without sacrificing grades; it was: "really helpful in getting that good grade… quickly do it, and then learn it later on"
Uncertain future
"What if robots just take over that? That is concerning. Also, if they don't take over, I have to be able to utilize those opportunities in my job, most likely."
Getting hooked on AI
"It's also a bad thing because you do it once […] and then you're like, okay, it was pretty good. Let me do it again, okay. That was a good time. And then so you just like spiral and spiral into like every single thing you do, you just turn to the convenience of AI and of actually even, like trying yourself.
Everyone's doing it so I have to, too
"I have so many issues with it myself, and like…But with those issues, I'm not going to, I guess, be at a disadvantage because I know everyone else uses it."
It destroys creativity & jobs
"my biggest frustration is where it takes human interaction, thought, and artistic ability out of so many different fields. It's just such a shame to see so much creative potential being taken away and wasted, so many jobs lost."
Students experience GenAI as increasingly inescapable while grappling with ethical concerns about privacy, environmental impact, and future implications.
GenAI Conversations
What we learned from talking to our students
Students found it “upsetting” to see classmates “just using [AI] to do everything” without engaging in critical thinking.
Even students opposed to AI reported using it at times, expressing guilt and shame.
Students want clear, flexible guidelines that reflect actual practices with legitimate examples.
Students were able to justify their own uses of AI, but often judged their peers' uses.
Students wanted fair assessments of their work, and suggested blue books and proctored exams as desirable.
Students welcomed conversations about AI and felt we weren't talking about it enough.
GenAI Conversations
How can faculty respond?
97% of students believe that institutions should respond to academic integrity threats in the age of generative AI.
Yet approaches such as AI-detection software and limiting technology use in classrooms are unpopular.
Instead, more students want education on ethical AI use (53%) and clearer, standardized policies on when and how AI tools can be used.
Key Recommendations: Faculty Actions
1
AI-Aware Policies
Provide clear, flexible course policies with examples of permissible use
2
Alternative Assessments
Consider flexible deadlines, contract grading, ungrading, proctored exams
3
Communicate Value
Make the case for course and assignment relevance, especially in Gen Ed requirements
4
Talk to students about AI
Help students understand the limits and possiblities of the technology.
Talk to your own students about AI
While some of the research reflects broad demographics, most of it is focused on students of traditional college age, in the US, without meaningful breakdown across teaching modalities or demographics. The best data is the data that reflects your own teaching context and your own students. How do you get that?
Define What You Want to Learn
What are you most curious about? What are you most concerned about?
Assess Time & Effort
Consider the time and resources your have for running discussions about AI.
Engage Campus Partners
Collaborate with other faculty or support staff to gather resources and share strategies.
Plan Communication
Strategize how best to convey information and guidelines about AI to your students and peers.
Consider both informal and formal ways to learn about your students' uses of AI
Informal: Talk to students directly, or coordinate with colleagues.
  • Advantages: Less time and effort, actionable information now.
Formal: Run a study to gather data.
  • Advantages: More systematic, potentially more persuasive to administrators and funders
Create space for your students to be honest with you
Show your interest and willingness to learn from them
Frame the conversation around your curiosity rather than academic integrity or "cheating" concerns.
Reach out to students who aren't currently in your class
Ways to start the conversation at your school
Share statistics on student use to start the conversation. In slides, a handout, or discussion, cite stats from this presentation on how common AI use is, the reasons students say they use it or don't, and how they feel about peer uses. Ask your students what they think and what resonates with them.
Survey your own students as anonymously as possible. Survey your students anonymously through paper "exit tickets," your course management system, Google Forms, or Qualtrics, Ask what they find helpful or frustrating, and what they'd like you to know or do about AI in your course. (See sample survey questions at the end of this presentation.)
Check with your Teaching Center to see what is already known about student AI use. Some centers for teaching and learning or other educational support staff have conducted surveys on students about their uses of AI or know about what's going on at your school.
Connect with student groups on campus like your undergrad council. Organizations such as undergraduate or student councils are used to talking to faculty and advocating for students. Learn directly from them and get an ear to the ground.
Share observations with colleagues. Check in with your department leadership or ask colleagues. Request time to be devoted to this conversation in a department meeting or organize and informal brown bag lunch focused on teaching and AI.
Run a study at your school
  • Administer a survey
  • Run focus groups
  • Conduct individual Interviews
Could require more coordination with colleagues, preparation, funding or approval by your Institutional Review Board (see IRB docs in Resources below).
Data from a formal survey or study might reflect your school more comprehensively, and might attract resources or support from your school.
Questions to ask in a survey or interviews
  • What do you use AI for now? How has your use changed over time?
  • When do you turn to AI? What goes into that decision?
  • When do you avoid using AI?
  • How do you feel when you're using AI? Do you feel differently using AI across different contexts?
  • What do you notice about peers' uses of AI? What do you think of that?
  • How do you find AI helpful?
  • What do you wish were different about the AI tools you use?
  • What would you like to learn about AI? How would you like to learn it?
See more in the Research toolkit folder: unknown link
What you learn about your students' uses of AI can help you with AI-Aware teaching
Ask yourself:
  • Are your students using AI to augment or replace learning? What would it take for them to shift the balance away from AI as a replacement for learning?
  • How is AI affecting your students' affective relationships to learning? How is it shifting their connections with peers, you, and their learning processes? What would it look like to support human relationships and growth for your students?
Learn what your students think about AI in order to meet their needs. National surveys and published research will give you the big picture, and you can reach out to your students to see the local picture as well.
Remember that regardless of your confidence with AI or what you know about your students' use, just being open to connection and listening will benefit them.
For updates on the Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching, visit: https://seagull.wwnorton.com/aiaware
References
GenAI Convos (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Focus Group study, n=95, across four campuses at University of Pittsburgh, Mar-April 2025.
  • Vee, Annette, Patrick Manning, Jessica FitzPatrick, Jessica Ghilani, Catherine Kula, Patty Wharton-Michael, Jialei Jiang, Sean DiLeonardi, Elise Silva, Birney Young, Mark DiMauro, Jeff Aziz, Gayle Rogers. "GenAI Conversations: Student Use of Generative AI at Pitt." Sponsored by Pitt Digital.
University of Pittsburgh Survey
  • Vee, Annette. Student Uses of Writing Technologies Survey. University of Pittsburgh. [April 2024 (n=82); December 2024 (n=167), unpublished]. Survey given to students in gen-ed Composition classes.
Anthropic
AAC&U
Educause
Gallup & Walton
HEPI
IHE
OpenAI
Share these reports and ideas on student AI use
Flaherty, Colleen. "How AI is Changing—Not Killing—College." Inside Higher Education, Aug 2025.https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2025/08/29/survey-college-students-views-ai
Boston College Student AI Advisors. "Student Education and Empowerment in the Age of AI" June 2025.https://cdil.bc.edu/resources/emerging-technologies/engaging-with-ai/student-ai-advisors/ai-advisors-report-2025/
Vee, Annette. "AI and Student Agency." Computation and Writing Substack, 30 Sept, 2025. https://annettevee.substack.com/p/ai-and-student-agency
Vee, Annette. "How are Students Using AI?" AI and How We Teach, Norton Newsletter. 12 May 2025https://aiandhowweteach.substack.com/p/how-are-students-using-ai
Resources to help you learn about your students
Research toolkit: unknown link
Including:
Survey questions from University of Pittsburgh Student Use of Writing Technologies Survey, Annette Vee: https://bit.ly/pittwritingtechsurveyquestions2024
Survey questions designed by Inside Higher Education and Generation Lab, as part of the Student Voice Survey, and copied from this publicly available data: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uJFg_fLL4HidlYXSbcWrvsDLZr3y5AqrNKG0kOmCk00/edit?tab=t.0
Interview script for student focus groups, GenAI Conversations Study, University of Pittsburgh, Mar-Apr 2025, Vee, Annette, Patrick Manning, Jessica FitzPatrick, Jessica Ghilani, Catherine Kula, Patty Wharton-Michael, Jialei Jiang, Sean DiLeonardi, Elise Silva, Birney Young, Mark DiMauro, Jeff Aziz, Gayle Rogers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ukU_6dW_JPIzdDWZLOyYSwUNQcuNnabr0VamLiB-PDw/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you!
Annette Vee, PhD., University of Pittsburgh, [email protected]
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