This paper present a mental model to help address on on-going discourse on the careless use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies without understanding its potential pitfalls. While acknowledging the benefits of GenAI use, this paper focused on addressing the potential harm of GenAI misuse. It is especially meant for educators as they embraced GenAI and increasingly use it for various aspects of curriculum design or revamp, and in a case of academic expediency, leading to uncritical acceptance of GenAI outputs. They may also inadvertently slip in personal bias into the learning tasks designed to engage students in learning. This model was constructed based on an analogy with real-world applications in biological and engineering disciplines. The model combines extant AI ethical framework, constructive alignment and CDIO Standards to provide guidance to educators to use GenAI in a responsible manner – it does not advocate a complete ban of GenAI use in teaching and learning but a thoughtful, ethical and principled use that harness the power of GenAI to benefit students learning through the use of CDIO Framework. The paper first put forward an argument from cognitive science on the malleability of human brain that makes is susceptible to negative impact due to over-reliance of GenAI use. It posited that deliberate use of pedagogy or combination of pedagogies supported by CDIO Standards that stimulate cognitive engagement is a means to counter the deleterious effect of misguided GenAI use. Selected examples of human capacities from both cognitive and affective domains that are at risk of being compromised by GenAI misuse are identified. The model is then presented and key features explained, followed by a simplified example of how the model can be used. The paper then shares some limitations of the work done, and outlines areas of potential research where use of the proposed model; and concludes will a call for the development of greater trust between faculty and students over GenAI use; where transparency in the teaching and learning is of paramount importance – a factor that the proposed model strive to provide.
