Melissa Webster

Melissa Webster's Background

Melissa Webster is a Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT Sloan School of Management.1 5 She teaches oral, written, and interpersonal communication to future business leaders.5

Prior to her role at MIT Sloan, Webster led IDC's Content and Digital Media Technologies research program.3 4 In this position, she tracked, analyzed, and forecasted markets and trends in document, content, and digital media technologies.3 4

She has held other key roles at IDC, including Research Director for Content Management and Retrieval Solutions, and Program Director for Content Technologies and Document Workflow.

Integrating ChatGPT into the Classroom

In Spring 2023, Webster decided to integrate ChatGPT into her undergraduate course at MIT Sloan.1 Her goals were to test the integration while preserving academic integrity, and to help students develop their ability to discern quality in AI-generated content, effectively prompt generative AI, and understand its broader impact on business communication.1

Webster designed an assignment with three related sections1:

Students drafted cover letters using ChatGPT, prompting the AI as many times as they wished without modifying the generated output.1
Students selected the most compelling AI-generated cover letter and justified their choice via email to their 'boss' in a role-playing scenario.1
Students engaged in in-class discussions to further analyze the strengths and weaknesses of AI in business communication.1

Benefits of Integrating AI into the Classroom

By blending traditional pedagogy with emerging technology, Webster's approach enhances student learning in several ways1:

It provides diverse avenues for students to interact with the subject matter, making complex concepts more likely to be understood and retained.1
It offers students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and skills, which also provides faculty with a more comprehensive assessment of student competencies and learning preferences.1
It prepares students to navigate the evolving landscape of business communication, fostering essential skills like critical thinking and effective prompting.1

In summary, Melissa Webster is a Lecturer at MIT Sloan who has creatively integrated ChatGPT into her curriculum to prepare future business leaders for the changing communication landscape.1 2