Explore how AI impacts assessment and academic integrity, and learn strategies to redesign assessments that uphold student mana and promote authentic learning.
Learning Path 3: AI, Assessment, and Academic Integrity
🌸 Section 1: Welcome and Orientation
Nau mai ki tēnei kaupapa nui.
In this learning path, we turn toward one of the most talked-about - and often misunderstood - aspects of AI in education: its impact on assessment and integrity.
The arrival of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has raised big questions:
- How do we know if students are doing their own work?
- Can learners “cheat” more easily now?
- Are detection tools reliable?
These concerns are valid - but they don’t need to lead us into panic, fear, or over-surveillance.
Instead, this is our invitation to redesign assessment with integrity at the centre.
“The question is no longer ‘can students use AI?‘
It’s ‘How do we design learning that AI can’t replace?’”
🪶 Kaupapa Māori Lens: Protecting Mana in the Age of AI
In learning Path 1, we explored how tikanga principles guide our AI practice.
Here, we focus on mana - the spiritual authority and integrity that must be protected in assessment and academic work.
This learning path builds on the foundations of manaakitanga, ako, whakapapa, kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, and tino rangatiratanga, applying them specifically to assessment integrity in the age of AI.
Look for the 🪶 symbol throughout to find these kaupapa-based perspectives, and explore the comprehensive “Mana and Assessment Deep Dive” at the end.
⚖️ Section 2: Risks + Opportunities
We’ll begin by naming both sides of the coin - the tensions and possibilities that AI introduces into assessment.
Risks to Watch For
- Masking learning: AI-written work may hide a student’s actual skill level
- Equity gaps: Some learners have better access to tools, devices, and support
- Overuse: Students may rely on AI instead of developing independent thinking
- False positives: Detection tools can wrongly flag innocent students - especially Māori, Pasifika, ESOL, or neurodivergent learners
- Hidden workload: Tutors may face added complexity when evaluating AI-supported work
Opportunities to Embrace
- Shift the focus to process, thinking, and reflection
- Assess the human layer - decision-making, critique, and insight
- Support digital literacy while upholding academic ethics
- Reduce busywork to surface deeper learning
- Strengthen feedback loops through clearer explanation of student thinking
💬 “When we asked students to explain how AI supported their draft - they were more thoughtful, not less.”
🪶 Kaupapa Māori Lens: Whakaaro | Perspective
From a kaupapa Māori perspective, the key question isn’t:
“Can students cheat?”
but rather:
“Does this assessment protect and strengthen the mana of the student?”
Risk through a Tikanga Lens
AI misuse can:
- Erode self-efficacy
- Undermine authentic voice
- Create whakamā or self-doubt
Opportunity through a Tikanga Lens
Thoughtful redesign can:
- Honour ako (reciprocal learning)
- Build whanaungatanga through shared kōrero
- Strengthen kaitiakitanga by teaching responsible AI use
- Support tino rangatiratanga by positioning learners as decision-makers
Whaiwhakaaro | Reflection
How might your current assessments either strengthen or diminish student mana?
💡 Tip: Explore this further in Section 6: Mana and Assessment Deep Dive.