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AI & Writing Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community

Are you interested in integrating AI into writing assignments in one or more of your courses?

You’re invited to join a Faculty Learning Community for instructors across all disciplines who wish to better understand how to navigate the use of generative AI (GENAI) in classes in which they assign writing. We will engage in collaborative work together to:

  • explore attitudes toward the integration of GENAI tools into our teaching,
  • discuss ways to facilitate students’ development of AI literacy,
  • discuss emerging strategies for ways to integrate GENAI with written assignments of any type,
  • discuss how these strategies may work or are working in our classes, and
  • engage in hands-on practice with GENAI resources.

We’ll get started in late October and then will meet once a month after that–in November, February, March, and April. See below for the tentative plan for each of the sessions.  

Please complete this short survey to tell us more about your interest in AI and Writing Pedagogy: tiny.utk.edu/GenAiFaculty23-24

Questions? Contact Dr. Matt Bryant Cheney, Assistant Director, Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, mbryantc@utk.edu, 865-974-9869; or Dr. Kirsten Benson, Director, Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, kbenson@utk.edu, 865-974-8266.

AI and Writing Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community Schedule

We’ll make adjustments as we go along to the day/time/meeting focus to match with participants’ needs/interests

Meeting 1: October 24, 2023, 3:30-4:30 pm, HSS 68

  • Open discussion with “state of affairs” responses to determine the interests and experience within the group, and, time permitting, we’ll also take a look at a couple of AI literacy assignments created at other schools and consider the strategies instructors have used to integrate AI into these assignments. Before we meet, please take a look at these short readings from the TextGenEd collection (Eds. Laquintano, Schnitzler, and Vee; 2023):

Meeting 2: November 14, 2023, 3:30-4:30 pm, Hodges Library, Mary Greer Room (LIB 258)

  • Participants share their personal experiments with AI ChatBot use.
  • Discuss Transforming Writing Assignments with AI reading; share thoughts about how this might work for an assignment in participants’ courses.
  • Two volunteer participants give short informal presentations on AI-integrated projects or assignments they’ve already attempted.
    • Q&A and dialogue from presentations
  • Planning for Spring 2024: Brainstorming about GENAI integration strategies to focus on (such as teaching AI prompting, etc.)
  • Select Spring meeting dates

Meeting 3: April (date, time, and location TBD)         

  • “Where are we now with Generative AI and Teaching Writing?” Quick Overview
  • Reflect on how Generative AI has affected our Academic Year 23-24 courses
  • Share Resources to help with upcoming course preparation.
  • Brainstorm Training and Workshop topics for Summer and Fall 2024.

Credit: Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash