AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum

In September 2024, AAC&U will launch the inaugural Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. This new, fully online institute is designed to help departments, programs, colleges, and universities respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) presents for courses and curricula. Throughout the 2024–25 academic year, the institute will engage participating teams via virtual events, mentorship, and interactions as they develop and implement AI action plans for their classrooms, curricula, and campuses.

Institute Purpose and Design

By the start of the spring 2023 semester, nearly all college students had experimented with generative AI, and the challenges AI created in terms of many traditional pedagogical, assignment, and academic integrity practices quickly became apparent. As 2023 progressed, the world of work quickly discerned ways AI could create efficiencies and improve the quality of service, and nearly all employers across all business sectors now say they are or soon will be expecting employees to possess AI competencies and literacies. Employers also recognize a significant skills gap. They are searching for programs that produce graduates with AI skills, and they are willing to pay a premium for those with such skills. The question for higher education, then, is how to address this rapidly emerging skills gap while also ensuring students achieve the range of learning outcomes currently designed into existing courses and programs.

The institute is designed for departments, programs, colleges, and universities seeking to:

• rethink pedagogical and assessment approaches within and across courses;
• address academic integrity concerns and consider new policies and practices;
• contemplate the ethical and equity implications of AI; and
• adopt AI competencies and literacies as course and/or programmatic learning outcomes.

Participating teams of faculty, staff, and administrators will design and implement pedagogical and curricular strategies to address the breadth of challenges and opportunities presented by AI. In short, the institute is ideal for any department, program, or institution that is ready to address this new era.

The institute will begin with a kickoff event on September 12–13, 2024. Participating teams will engage in activities designed to help them understand the current moment regarding AI and higher education as well as develop an AI action plan. Institute faculty—all experts in AI as well as organizational change, pedagogical practice, and curricular redesign—will serve as partners. Each team can expect consultative opportunities to interact with the faculty throughout the fall and spring semesters as their plans evolve and are implemented. Monthly webinars and cross-team planning meetings will include updates regarding the current state of AI in higher education. In addition to the kickoff and monthly meetings, a daylong event will be held on Friday, January 10, 2025, in preparation for the spring semester. The institute will conclude with a closing capstone event on April 10–11, 2025. All participants will receive a copy of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) in July 2024.

Read about Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning in Forbes and Medium. Also, check out this Inside Higher Ed op-ed by Watson and Bowen.

Applications must be received by May 20, 2024. Notification of selection decisions will be sent during the week of June 3, 2024.

Who Should Attend?

The Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum is intended to support any department, program, college, or university seeking to address the challenges and opportunities presented by AI within its courses and curriculum. Attendees can be at any stage in the process of investigating AI in their classrooms and on their campuses but should have a desire to make change. Teams should include faculty who wish to employ new practices, policies, and pedagogies and/or adopt AI-related learning outcomes within their courses or curricula. We encourage the inclusion of a senior academic leader from within the team’s context. Teams might also include instructional designers, center for teaching and learning staff, learning technologies professionals, or student affairs leaders as well as assessment and curriculum specialists and others with active roles in advancing AI, curricular reform, course design, student learning, and student success on campus. Although not restricted, a typical team minimum size would consist of five individuals.

For additional information on the Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum, please contact C. Edward Watson at [email protected].