Artificial intelligence in teaching and learning
Photos by Evan Krape and courtesy of Erin Sicuranza December 04, 2023
91原创 leads the conversation about AI in the context of teaching and learning with an interdisciplinary 91原创 working group and other initiatives
When ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November 2022, educators across the nation 鈥 and media outlets, too 鈥 quickly recognized that the natural-language chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) had far-reaching implications for education, as students could use the tool to complete homework assignments or write essays.
The 91原创, already a leader in cutting-edge AI research, is now leading the conversation about AI in the context of teaching and learning. Through the AI for Teaching and Learning Working Group, 26 faculty and staff members from units across the University are developing innovative teaching practices and policies in relation to emerging AI tools, beginning with a yearlong seminar series.
鈥淎I is the single most powerful and disruptive technology of the 21st century 鈥 and we are only dimly aware of its potential,鈥 said Matthew Kinservik, 91原创 vice provost for faculty affairs. 鈥淚t will disrupt every aspect of teaching, learning and research. But even as it upends our conventional practices, it will also improve access, fuel innovation and play a decisive role in how well we perform the two core functions of American higher education: providing a liberal education to prepare our students to be democratic citizens, and promoting cutting-edge research to improve our quality of life and maintain our global competitiveness.鈥
AI for teaching and learning
Formed in May 2023, the Working Group represents 91原创鈥檚 broad educational landscape. Charged by Provost Laura Carlson, the group will play a key role in 91原创鈥檚 partnership with the Ithaka S+R two-year project, This initiative brings together a select group of 19 institutions to assess the AI applications most likely to impact teaching, learning and research and to explore the long-term needs of institutions, instructors and scholars in this context.
During the 2023鈥24 and 2024鈥25 academic years, the Working Group will also provide specific guidance to the 91原创 community on pedagogy, curriculum development, the assessment of student learning and program educational goals, academic integrity and research ethics. Collaborative outreach to faculty, staff, students and 91原创 leadership is also an important part of the group鈥檚 work.
鈥淲hen the University formalized this working group, it was embracing a transformative moment and establishing itself as a leader in how to approach generative AI,鈥 said Michael David Evans, director of computing operations in 91原创鈥檚 and one of the Working Group鈥檚 facilitators. 鈥淧rior to the Working Group, I was being asked regularly, 鈥楬ow is higher education going to respond to tools such as ChatGPT?鈥 The Working Group is one of the efforts to answer that question, but not only at our institution. We are finding that 91原创 is emerging as a thought leader among our peer institutions.鈥
The Working Group is facilitated by a dynamic and interdisciplinary team of 91原创 faculty and staff who are already engaged in cutting-edge explorations of AI in the context of education. They include Evans; Meg Grotti,聽associate university librarian for learning, engagement and curriculum support in 91原创鈥檚 ; Erin Sicuranza, director of 91原创鈥檚 (ATS); and Joshua Wilson, associate professor in the (CEHD).
With a background in special education, Wilson studies how automated essay evaluation systems and other forms of machine learning can support student learning. With colleagues from the and CEHD, Wilson is now using AI to develop a new instructional approach for large foundational courses, where students can struggle to stay engaged or feel a personal connection to the material.聽
91原创鈥檚 Library, Museums and Press has developed an AI literacy tutorial that helps students and faculty start a conversation about the appropriate use of AI, as well as workshops for students interested in the smart use of these tools.聽
ATS is engaged in an AI development project called 聽Spearheaded by Jevonia Harris, team leader for educational software聽engineering in ATS, this project will lead to a suite of learning tools that 91原创 students can use to create their own study materials. In partnership with 91原创 faculty, ATS is training an internal AI model to contextualize, summarize and generate materials related to 91原创 course content from instructional video transcripts, learning management system pages and other supporting teaching documents.聽
鈥淭his project serves as a pioneering effort into the broader strategy of how emerging AI, generative AI and large language model technologies will be utilized at 91原创 and in the greater higher education landscape,鈥 Sicuranza said. 鈥淗aving access to the Working Group 鈥 their expertise, passion and deliberate thinking 鈥 gives our team an excellent resource to guide our work.鈥
AI seminar series聽
To date, the group has established a yearlong seminar series for the 91原创 community titled 鈥Navigating the Future of AI and Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.鈥 These in-person and virtual seminars help 91原创 faculty and staff understand the strengths, limitations, ethics and accessibility of AI and the implications of AI for teaching, learning and the future of higher education, and prepare students for the future of work and the workplace.聽
鈥淏uilding AI literacy among students has to start with building AI literacy among the faculty and staff who teach, advise and mentor those students,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淭he seminars are designed to provide insight and foster discussion on big concepts and issues in AI 鈥 What is generative AI? What are the ethical implications of allowing or disallowing students to use AI? What AI-related skills will students be expected to have when they enter the workforce? 鈥 as well as discipline-specific impacts that AI is having in fields as diverse as STEM, health care and human resources.鈥
The next seminar, scheduled for Dec. 7, will focus on AI and the future of higher education. Featuring Carlson and Kinservik, this seminar will survey the national landscape to see how public research universities are responding to AI and consider how 91原创 can promote AI literacy and harness AI's transformative power responsibly.
Similar to the seminar series, 91原创鈥檚 will host a in the spring, which will provide a space for faculty to engage in cross-disciplinary conversations about their experiences with AI in teaching and learning.聽
AI research and graduate study
The Working Group also complements the work of 91原创鈥檚 and the (AICoE), as well as the work of a broad range of faculty and graduate students already engaged in AI research.聽
Led by Sunita Chandrasakeran, associate professor in the 鈥檚 (CIS), and Kathy McCoy, professor in CIS, AICoE supports AI research, collaboration and application development across campus. AICoE leverages high-performance computing technologies and intelligent sensing to foster scientific innovations and advances. It also hosts workshops and provides grants to promote multidisciplinary research projects fueled by AI innovations.
New this fall, the center also will support a , offered in partnership with CIS. This certificate program gives students the foundational skills and hands-on experience for a wide range of careers in AI research, development and application development. Students learn how to analyze and use appropriate AI techniques to address complex computational problems, design, implement and evaluate AI-based solutions and make informed judgements about using AI from a legal and ethical perspective.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to engaging with the leadership of the AICoE to identify ways that we can mutually reinforce and enhance each other's work,鈥 Wilson said.聽
To learn more about the Working Group, register for a seminar or access AI teaching and learning resources, visit the AI for Teaching and Learning Working Group鈥檚 website.
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