Workshop 2: Verifying STEM AI Outputs
The Check the Machine protocol and error-hunting skills for AI-generated code and STEM content.
Date: April 18, 2026 · 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM PST · Virtual
Focus: Academic integrity, error analysis, critical thinking in STEM
Talk:Do Ratio: 26 min facilitator / 164 min participant activities (1:6.3)
Your students are using AI — but do they know when it’s wrong? This session equips you with the “Check the Machine” protocol and hands-on error-hunting skills for both AI-generated code and STEM content.
Learning Objectives
- Identify common LLM failure modes in code generation and STEM content
- Apply the Check the Machine (CtM) 4-step protocol: Task → Before → After → Takeaway
- Conduct structured error hunts on AI-generated code and scientific explanations
- Design a CtM classroom activity customized for their subject and grade band
- Distinguish productive AI use (learning) from unproductive AI use (copying)
Session Resources
- 📋 Live Agenda — participant-facing timeline with activity links and print view
- 🖥 Web Slides — keyboard-navigable presentation (← → arrows, F for fullscreen)
- ⬇ Download Slides (PPTX) — import to Google Slides
Key Activities
| CRAFT Phase | Activity | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contextualize | Self-Assessment: AI in Your Classroom | 8 min | You Do |
| Reframe | Breakout: Rewriting the AI Policy | 14 min | You Do |
| Assemble | Breakout: Code Error Hunt (3 snippets) | 22 min | You Do |
| Assemble | Solo: Break Your Own AI | 15 min | You Do |
| Assemble | Breakout: Content Error Hunt (audit checklist) | 20 min | You Do |
| Fortify | Follow Along: Live CtM Cycle | 10 min | You Do |
| Fortify | Partner Practice: Run Your Own CtM | 15 min | You Do |
| Fortify | Build: Customize CtM for Your Classroom | 12 min | You Do |
| Transfer | Pair-Share: Your Verification Commitment | 10 min | You Do |
The Check the Machine (CtM) Protocol
A reusable 4-step classroom verification framework from the CRAFT pedagogy:
- Task — What you asked the AI to do
- Before — Your expectation or prior belief about the answer
- After — What the AI actually produced
- Takeaway — What the comparison reveals about the tool AND about your own understanding
Focus Tags
Error Analysis · Check the Machine · Critical Thinking
Reframe Theme
“The problem isn’t that students USE AI — it’s that they don’t VERIFY AI.” — Banning teaches avoidance; verification teaches engineering thinking.