Days/Times: Mondays 10:30 am – noon, starting September 8
Instructor: John Martin
Location: Online (Zoom)
Credit: 2 credits
Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning: elective
Course Description
AI continues to change the way we teach, learn, research, and even think. It is crucial to learn to use it in ethical, equitable, and effective ways to enhance rather than diminish our distinct expressions of humanity, and provide learning activities that encourage students to use AI to support their learning rather than using it to offload their learning.
Human-Centered Teaching with AI is a full-semester, graduate-level course held on Zoom that is open to students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. This is not a course on how to have AI teach more, but on how to use it to teach better, while keeping our humanity intact. This Fall 2025 course is the third iteration of courses where ~40 participants now have explored both individually and together how to harness these emerging tools in our teaching.
Personal voice is a major goal. The course is for participants to explore how generative AI tools can be leveraged to create adaptable and evolving educational experiences that resonate with their own personal teaching philosophies, values, and the diverse needs of learners. In other words, we will focus on how AI can assist in meeting us and our students where we are at and honoring/developing who we are rather than trying to change us (educators and students) into versions of ourselves that are not authentic to ourselves or our disciplines. We will use AI to create more equitable, effective, and efficient teaching practices tailored to participants’ specific academic fields and tailored to complement their individual teaching styles.
Through individual and group exploration and experimentation, we apply AI to proven teaching techniques such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT), backward design, inclusive teaching strategies, and social/active learning that promotes peer-informed critical thinking.
Anonymous testimonials from previous offerings:
- “During a recent conversation with my department chair, advisor, and several research collaborators, the department chair jokingly remarked that “all classes will be AI classes.” While said in jest, the comment struck me as a reflection of a broader shift in education—a recognition that AI will increasingly shape how we teach and learn. Taking this course has felt like a direct response to that shift. It has equipped me with the foundational tools and perspectives needed to engage thoughtfully with AI in educational settings. As I move forward in my career—ideally in academia—I feel more prepared to both integrate AI into my teaching and help others navigate this evolving landscape.”
- “This is one of the most effectively designed and supportive courses I’ve taken at UW. I had very limited knowledge of AI and its applications for teaching when I enrolled, and the course discussions and activities have been really valuable in getting practical experience with the benefits and drawbacks.”
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“It has been one of the most amazing experiences — the instructors were great, and we had a lot of fun, engaging in exciting interdisciplinary conversations.”
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“This course taught me so many things about how to use generative AI; not only course development, but also ways to encourage student engagement and performance evaluation.”
- “Great course, I would definitely recommend to other colleagues, it is both useful for teaching, research and even for personal use and career development.”
About the Instructor
John Martin’s PhD looked at experiential and game-based learning. He’s taught on campus (first-year to graduate students) since 2012. His interest in collaborative experiential learning has led him to embrace technology to build trust-filled social learning environments. He’s helped students and educators transition from typewriters to word processors, from standalone computers to the internet, from desktops to laptops to tablets to mobile phones. He’s developed augmented reality apps for learning, and leans into new learning tech as it develops. So here we are with AI! His own ADHD-issues have driven him to approach generative AI, like the many other potentially-dehumanizing technologies before it, with determined optimism, leaning in to harness them to help the full spectrum of learners.
Questions?
Contact info@delta.wisc.edu