About

With generative AI being a type of rapidly developing emerging technology, the modules in this professional development series are designed to build faculty’s AI literacy as they begin the fall 2023 semester. While best practices for harnessing the power of AI for teaching, learning, research, and productivity are being identified and tested, the purpose of these modules is to provide a base level of support for faculty, as they use generative AI in their contexts within higher education.

Thinking Forward About AI

Generative AI offers new possibilities and introduces concerns for higher education that previously had not existed. Accelerating the sharing and production of knowledge using machines can affect the way humans think and learn. These possibilities and concerns need to be addressed, so generative AI can be integrated thoughtfully into the work that takes place in universities. Through conversations, meetings, readings, and more, the Generative AI committee exchanged their ideas in relation to those possibilities and concerns, and built consensus around these areas, which became the topics for this professional development’s modules.

About the Modules

The Committee was purposeful in selecting the topics for the modules, so each one would have a distinct purpose. Moreover, the modules are designed in a sequence, though faculty can choose the modules that best align to their interest, and the modules are:

• Module 1. Introduction to Generative AI: Provides an overview about generative AI and the AI Ecosystem
• Module 2. The Art and Science of Prompting AI: Explains a 3-step approach to prompting AI followed with examples for teaching, scholarship, and productivity
• Module 3. Teaching with AI: Describes ways to conceptualize AI for instructional purposes and designing assessments along with examples to use it for teaching and learning
• Module 4. Ensuring Academic Integrity with AI: Puts forward guidance that instructors, students, and researchers can use for documenting their use of generative AI, respective to their contexts and work
• Module 5. Launching Your AI Trajectory: Offers a tool that faculty can use to self-assess and identify their strengths and areas for improvement for using generative AI

To design the modules, a Faculty Development sub-committee was formed that built out the modules by following a specific instructional design model.

Module Design

Each module was designed based on Lee and Hannifin’s (2016) “Own It, Learn It, Share It” instructional design model. However, in addition to those three stages, the Generative AI committee integrated an “Apply It” stage into the model, and the purposes of each stage are:

• Own It: Provide an opportunity for learners to make an authenticate connection with the topic based on their context and work
• Learn It: Present the learners with information about a specific topic or procedures for a skill in a compelling manner
• Apply It: Offer the learners an experiential activity for them to use the information or skill in a practice exercise or scenario
• Share It: Reflect on their learning experience from the previous three steps in a way that allows other learners to exchange ideas

By following these four distinct stages, it allowed the Committee to develop the five asynchronous modules that comprise this professional development.

Closing Thoughts

These modules are just a start, and these modules are expected to be updated as generative AI continues to mature and advance over time, as well as the skill sets of faculty as they become more familiar with the technology. In this way, these modules represent a starting point for supporting the needs of faculty as they begin the Fall 2023.

Generative AI Committee Members

Thank you to all the members of the Generative AI committee for their service.

References

Lee, E., & Hannafin, M. J. (2016). A design framework for enhancing engagement in student-centered learning: Own it, learn it, and share it. Educational technology research and development, 64, 707-734.