The 35th Annual Ann Ferren Conference

Generative AI is here and we have options about how we want students to use it. We will analyze assignments that use AI, evaluating how they help or interfere with student learning. Student perspectives, based on surveys and student panelists, will be shared on why students do or don’t use AI.

Learning Outcomes

• Examine the benefits and limitations of generative AI in our teaching
• Recognize the student perspectives on generative AI as a tool for learning
• Analyze some assignments that use AI to determine if they promote or impede student learning
• Explore incentives for students to not use generative AI

In this session leaders, advisors, and participants of National Science Foundation funded ADVANCE AU’s inaugural STEM faculty peer-mentorship program will discuss the rationale and methods behind employing peers, university leaders, and experienced faculty leaders to enhance faculty mentoring at AU. This panel discussion will engage participants in an active conversation on the importance of human connection and nurturing in an increasingly internet-reliant academic environment. An emphasis will be placed on distinguishing between faculty development achieved through online coaching resources like National Faculty Center for Diversity and Development (NCFDD) and other online presentations, institution-specific peer-to-peer mentoring, and mentor-to-mentee coaching.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify effective methods of faculty mentoring for a various types of goals
• Recognize the need for mentoring as a form of community building, uplifting achievements, and promoting retention
• Distinguish between different forms of faculty development that are best handled online vs. with a human mentor

In this session, reps from each of AU’s schools and colleges will draw on the research framework about shared leadership collaborations for equity in higher education and will share how they are collectively working together through the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion (PCDI) to build collaboration by strengthening community and empowering one another through shared initiatives, projects, and support. The second half of the session will be interactive, and will engage participants in small, facilitated groups in a series of exercises aimed at incubating inclusive excellence collaborations within and across AU’s schools, colleges, and units.

Learning Outcomes

• Articulate the role of the President’s Council on Diversity & Inclusion (PCDI) in AU’s IE strategy, and how PCDI can support faculty and staff in their DEI efforts
• Identify best practices for shared equity collaborations, building relationships and awareness of resources and existing supports
• Explore opportunities for building DEI-focused collaborations within and across schools

This session will introduce participants to tools within the Office of the Dean of Students for helping faculty and staff support the “whole student,” attending to the individualized academic, emotional, mental, physical, social, spiritual, and other well-being dimensions of each student. Resources to be discussed include the Care Report system, Dean of Students outreach and support mechanisms, as well as restorative practices as a means for repairing harm in classroom and other communities on campus. The session will engage participants in case studies and discussion to illustrate the usefulness of various tools.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify various systems used for student outreach and support at AU
• Determine when to employ various systems of student outreach and support at AU
• Define restorative practices and know where to seek help employing restorative practices in your work at AU
• Identify situations that may be appropriate for resolution using restorative practices

With the temptation to turn to generative AI as a shortcut or substitution for their own ideas, students need to engage in classroom activities that develop trust in expressing their ideas and practice responding to the ideas of others. These social bonds develop their emotional intelligence and give them confidence to team up with classmates. In this session, we’ll share activities transferable to any discipline or program that promote sharing of background and identity to find common bonds, teach active listening and questioning skills, and lead to increased self-awareness. With this foundation, students are more likely to brainstorm together and provide feedback on research and ideas in class.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify, discuss, and distinguish the specific teachable emotional intelligence skills so that students grow in content knowledge, self-awareness, and collaboration
• Design classroom activities that are social, co-creative, and generative while eventually supporting scaffolded aspects of key assignments (such as group brainstorming and peer review)

Join Dr. Diana Burley, Vice Provost for Research and Innovation, for an insightful exploration into the unique challenges and opportunities of AI at the intersection of research. This session will emphasize strategies to enhance digital resilience, protect intellectual property, and foster a secure environment for innovation. Gain valuable insights into safeguarding your research endeavors in an era where boundaries between technology and academic continue to synergize

In this session we will lead a discussion on pedagogical strategies for using generative AI tools and how we manage academic integrity in this new world of predictive technologies. We will use examples from our classes, spanning a variety of fields and disciplines. We will also conduct live demonstrations of AI to equip audience members with tools to use in their classes.

Learning Outcomes

• Design assignments that integrate generative AI tools in different writing applications (e.g. research reports, lab reports, policy analysis and creative writing)
• Describe how academic integrity can be expressed in the context of AI use
• Evaluate, with your students, the limitations of AI (e.g. sources of bias, misinformation, and loss of creativity and problem-solving skills)

AI presents opportunities in the search for “belonging and connection,” helping students identify career paths. It can also help in uncovering some of the hidden elements of the job search, revealing details like salary ranges, company history, etc., that would give important information to applicants regarding the match. Join us as we present interactive exercises to demonstrate the tools available and discuss questions, opportunities, and limitations related to AI.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify 3-4 resources to help students explore career paths
• Articulate how the core career competencies translate into the workplace using AI
• Explain how effective prompts are important to navigate the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of AI in career exploration
• Describe the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of the current career-related AI tools

This session will explore practical strategies to make teaching more inclusive and enjoyable, incorporating technology for maximum impact. This session promises actionable insights applicable to diverse educational settings, and is designed to be lively and engaging for both K-12 educators and higher education faculty.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain tangible and applicable strategies for fostering inclusivity in your teaching practices
• Explore effective ways to integrate technology for enhanced engagement
• Identify how technology can be a powerful tool for fostering inclusivity

In this session, we will examine ways to integrate generative artificial intelligence (GAI) like ChatGPT into instructional design, combining conventional methods with such tools. Strategies for incorporating GAI into learning are analyzed through discussions and hands-on practical activities. Bring your own device and explore how GAI can provide personalized and adaptive support to enhance learning and teaching.

Learning Outcomes:    

• Recognize how GAI impacts instructional design, recognizing its benefits and challenges
• Acquire practical strategies for effectively incorporating GAI tools into instruction
• Apply intelligent scaffolding with GAI to support learners’ development and achievement
• Practice using GAI to optimize student outcomes while reducing workload

Are your assignments eliciting the types of learning you intended? Do they incorporate elements that allow all students to demonstrate their learning? How can you help students to better incorporate your feedback? This session will include answers, discussion, and a chance to workshop real examples of assignments across disciplines. Please consider bringing an assignment or test from your class!

Learning Outcomes 

• Interpret a simple, evidence-based heuristic to guide inclusive assignment design
• Evaluate your own or sample assignments for inclusive elements and create adjustments based on your evaluations to improve inclusivity
• Discuss the ways that assignment ‘wrappers’ can improve student metacognition on their learning

In this session, we will share examples of how the School of Communication embraces experiential learning. Join us to hear from professors who created the opportunities and how they worked to get them approved, what admissions criteria they used and how they promoted the opportunities to students. Bring your ideas and we will help answer your questions about travel, Airlie, credits versus stipends, and how to successfully address challenges.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe how to navigate the cumbersome approval process when proposing ideas outside of the traditional curriculum
• Explain how to create an application form and what criteria to include to ensure a successful cohort
• Reflect on how to ensure that these experiential learning opportunities are available for a diverse cohort of students

In this session, the CTRL Student Partners will share their perspectives on how instructors at AU can make their teaching more impactful, equitable, and inclusive. These students have been working with CTRL through the fall semester and are excited to share insights from their focus projects with the larger AU community. Their presentations will draw on personal experience, interactions with other students, and ideas from coursework, and include topics related to accessibility, power and privilege, and rethinking how we define learning.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify various challenges and barriers to equity present at AU
• Apply specific student-recommended strategies to improve your teaching
• Reflect on students’ perceptions of how to create more inclusive and effective teaching and learning environments at AU

This session will discuss “faculty jurisdiction” in the AIC – the process by which faculty can address academic integrity concerns without escalating the concern to administrative adjudication. After reviewing policy, panelists will introduce approaches for addressing a variety of concerns with students, including AI-generated assignments, inappropriate source usage, exam procedures, and dishonesty in experiential learning records. Participants will role-play realistic scenarios.

Learning Outcomes

• Facilitate conversations with students about academic integrity concerns, according to policy
• Support student scholarship by recommending strategies for appropriate source identification and use
• Plan exams and procedures that promote academic integrity
• Employ strategies to avoid academic dishonesty in experiential and community-based learning courses

Community building within any course requires both student-to-student and student-to-instructor components, this allows students to be active drivers of their learning. But how does a faculty member accomplish both? Technology like Yellowdig that creates a space for students to share shorter messages, video, images, and audio for points has shown a positive impact for AU students that encourages them to be active participants in their learning. Leveraging Yellowdig empowers students to bring their own conversations to the topics you teach, stepping away from traditional discussion boards that tend to be mini essays and instead creating topical causal conversations that students want to be a part of. By sharing a faculty member’s experience, we hope to inspire others to leverage technology to enhance their classroom learning experience.

Learning Outcomes

• Determine how tools like Yellowdig can create online student communities
• Recognize the opportunities to use technology in the classroom to work with AI capabilities
• Explore cases where implementing Yellowdig could enhance the student learning experience for the attendee’s own courses