OHIO instructors invited to take part in AI in Teaching and Learning Institute

Ohio University’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA) will launch an asynchronous AI in Teaching and Learning Institute on March 3.

This modular course introduces instructors to strategies and pathways for leveraging generative artificial intelligence in courses and in day-to-day administrative tasks.

The professional development offering is made possible by a Konneker Learning and Discovery Fund grant and the exceptional work of five CTLA GenAI faculty fellows:

• Lead fellow Paul Shovlin, English
• Jared DeForest, Environmental Sciences and Plant Biology
• Yanhui Fang, Engineering
• Jennifer Lisy, Teacher Education
• Basil Masri Zada, Art and Design

The asynchronous course development team was led by Lisy and allows for scaling earlier efforts.

Shovlin noted, "I could not be more excited about the team of faculty fellows in the AI initiative, the work they’ve done over the last year and how it has coalesced into a practically-oriented, well-designed, asynchronous institute that will be more easily accessible by teachers at Ohio University."

The fellows have been publishing and presenting regionally and nationally. In addition, they have offered faculty learning communities and workshops, developed case studies, and created policies, assignments, assessments and instructional strategies to share. This course is an abbreviated and easily accessible compilation of much of that work, which began in fall 2022.

“This course is your chance to dip your toes in and explore how AI can transform your teaching, scholarship and/or professional life,” Lisy said. “Whether you are still learning what generative AI is or come in with a wealth of experience looking for some new ideas, there is something for everyone. The previous AI institutes required an extensive course redesign; this asynchronous course is a lighter lift with more customizable options.”

A carousel of mini-modules covers topics like “AI Writing Assignments,” “Generating Rubrics,” “AI Quiz Question Generation,” “Generating Case Studies,” “Creating Interactive Class Activities” and “AI Mash-Up,” among others.

“We had faculty from various fields who participated in previous AI institutes help us design resources for our participants to explore,” Lisy added. “I love the idea of being able to customize your learning, and the design of this offering aligns well with the personalization capabilities of AI in education.”

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Reflect and Design for AI in Higher Education: Faculty will critically reflect on their beliefs regarding AI in academia and craft a syllabus statement that aligns with their pedagogical values, clearly articulating expectations for ethical AI use to support student learning and integrity.
• Integrate AI to Enhance Teaching and Learning: Faculty will identify and implement at least one AI-driven tool or strategy in their own course to improve student outcomes or enhance their own teaching capacity, evaluating its impact on engagement, accessibility, or learning efficiency.

Thanks to the Konneker grant, the first 80 full-time faculty who complete all elements of this course will receive a $250 stipend. After they implement the AI enhancements developed as part of this course, assess the results of their teaching intervention and submit those results, they will receive an additional $250 stipend.

The course itself is open to any faculty, staff, and administrator interested in reviewing the resources.

To register for the course, complete this survey.