The law school dean wrote in a memo the school will shift its AI approach to take better advantage of in-class dialogue and learning.
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The dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law has called on faculty to rethink their teaching styles to emphasize a Socratic mode of instruction, arguing in a memo to faculty last week that artificial intelligence poses a threat to learning essential skills.
Though the law school dean, Bobby Chesney, acknowledged the necessity of training students to take advantage of AI capabilities, he wrote in the eight-page memo that faculty need to “take best advantage of the precious opportunity that the classroom setting provides.” He said faculty should take steps to ensure students are not distracted or reliant upon their screens while engaging in dialogue in class, noting that the classroom as a supervised setting is the “sole context” in which professors can ensure students are learning without using AI.
“In the emerging age of AI, our students will flourish best if they possess the fruits of both traditional legal training and a thoughtful program of AI upskilling that will help them make the best possible use of AI once in practice,” Chesney wrote.
