Primary speaker:
Bill Ju, Professor, Teaching Stream, Human Biology Program/Cell and Systems Biology
Secondary speakers:
Lisa Yuen, Undergraduate student, Human Biology Program
Buster Milne, Graduate student/TA, Institute of Medical Sciences
Description:
Generative AI is changing how students interact with knowledge, yet many classroom uses focus on efficiency rather than judgement. This session introduces a teaching framework that treats AI as a collaborator whose outputs must be evaluated rather than accepted.
The presentation will demonstrate how "vibe coding", a simple form of AI assisted modelling, can be used in life science courses to help students translate biological knowledge into rule based systems. Students convert concepts such as signalling pathways or synaptic plasticity into logical rules and then use generative AI to implement simple models. Because these models often produce unexpected or incorrect outcomes, students must identify faulty assumptions, missing variables and AI-generated errors. Learning occurs through debugging and scientific critique.
The session will be delivered as an interactive demonstration with discussion. A short introduction to the framework will be followed by a walkthrough of a classroom activity and examples of assignments used in neuroscience and human biology courses. The session will conclude with discussion of assessment strategies and ways to integrate critical AI use into existing courses.
