Days/Times: Wednesdays 1-2:30pm, starting September 4
Instructor: John Martin and Karen Skibba
Location: Online (Zoom)
Credit: 2 credits
Course Description
AI is changing 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.
Taught by John Martin and Karen Skibba from the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring, Staying Human with AI-Enhanced Teaching is a full-semester, graduate-level course held on Zoom that is open to all. 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.
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’re 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 will apply AI-assisted design to proven teaching techniques such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework, backward design, inclusive teaching strategies, and social/active learning that promotes peer-informed critical thinking.
About the Instructors
John Martin earned his PhD looking at experiential and game-based learning at UW-Madison and has taught at the university level (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. He currently works in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring.
Karen Skibba earned her PhD in adult and continuing education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She began her teaching journey while completing her Master’s Degree at Marquette University as a teaching assistant in undergraduate communication courses. With no formal training in teaching, Karen asked, “Who’s going to teach me how to teach?” The answer was clear: she would have to figure it out on her own. Driven by this challenge, Karen immersed herself in every available workshop, which ignited her passion for helping instructors leverage technology to enhance student learning. Her career has since taken her to Carroll University, UW-Whitewater, and UW-Madison, where she has helped instructors integrate evidence-based course design and teaching best practices, particularly in online and blended courses. As Artificial Intelligence continues to evolve, Karen is dedicated to exploring its potential to deepen engagement and enhance the learning experience for both instructors and students. She currently works in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring.
Questions?
Contact info@delta.wisc.edu