Taking teaching and learning to the next level with AI
Adjunct lecturer Sidney Beeman, right, works with faculty colleagues at the 2024 AI Institute for Smarter Learning to demonstrate how Adobe Premiere Pro offers creative ways to use AI to improve teaching and student outcomes.
By: Susan Messina
Yash Tadimalla ’20 M.S., believes the United States is in the midst of an AI emergency. The growing demands for experts coupled with a limited supply of AI researchers and educators creates a serious concern for maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the field. Tadimalla is so committed to finding a solution to this problem that he shifted his academic focus from data science to study new ways to teach computer science so more people from a variety of backgrounds are prepared to enter careers in computing and artificial intelligence.
He notes that had similar steps been taken 30 years ago in computer science to be more intentional in mentoring young students to create an abundant, vibrant and diverse supply of computer scientists, this situation might be different.
"Maybe we'd have a different kind of computing now -- and less of an urgent, national need for computer scientists and cybersecurity experts. AI is comparable; the time to prepare the field's leaders is now.
-Yash Tadimalla '20 M.S., Ph.D. candidate,
computer science and sociology
After earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering in his native India and completing a master’s degree in computer science with a data science concentration at UNC Charlotte, Tadimalla landed several corporate internships but struggled to find “purpose and meaning” in those environments.
At the same time, he identified in himself a passion for mentoring. “I considered a career in educational leadership, but whenever I mentioned my computer science background, people inevitably would point me toward UNC Charlotte’s Center for Education Innovation and Research.”
The center’s director at the time, Mary Lou Maher, convinced Tadimalla that whatever he wanted to accomplish through education and advocacy was possible through computer science. “I finally was able to see a pathway to doing education in computer science,” he said.
Ahead of the curve
“In many ways, UNC Charlotte is ahead of the curve in AI literacy and accessibility,” explained Maher, a longtime professor of software and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, who recently joined the Washington D.C.-based Computing Research Association as director of research community initiatives. “Contrary to the opinion of critics who fear that AI could be used to replace thinking, it has the ability, when used responsibly, to encourage critical thinking toward greater learning.”
Because critical thinking is a component of all disciplines, students in every major benefit from learning to use here-to-stay AI in a way that enhances their academic experience — similar to the way the internet provided access to new information when it first emerged.
In fall 2023 and spring 2024, Maher and Tadimalla developed and taught an AI literacy course that focuses on distinguishing differences between Gen AI, retrieval-augmented generation models and search engines, and when to use each; learning to interact with generative AI in an informed and responsible way; and AI’s societal implications, including the future of work and government policy.
They observed through the introductory course that students’ understanding and skills surrounding AI broadened, which has led to advocating for opening the course to all students, plus faculty and staff. Additionally, they argue for removing barriers to versions of AI that require financial commitment to avoid creating a “digital divide” between those able and unable to pay for versions beyond those that are free.
“Used responsibly, AI serves as a constant personal tutor,” said Maher. “It is particularly helpful for students who might enter college less prepared than they would like, who need support during nontraditional hours or who are reticent about asking for help. It’s available 24-7, approachable and nonjudgmental. There is no fear that AI tools will say, ‘I can’t believe you don’t know that.’”
It starts in the classroom
For students to become proficient and comfortable using artificial intelligence — and to mitigate fears among many of them about unwittingly crossing a line into cheating — faculty first must understand artificial intelligence within the context of their disciplines and the ways it can be used properly in the courses they teach. With established parameters, students are able to proceed with confidence knowing they can use AI for research and assignments in ways approved by their professors.
UNC Charlotte’s Center for Teaching and Learning within the School of Professional Studies offers a broad range of professional development opportunities and enterprise-level instructional technologies for faculty not only to bring them up to speed technologically but theoretically about AI’s purpose, value and potential.
"Supporting faculty through new technologies is our strength in the Center for Teaching and Learning. Over the previous year, we watched registrations for CTL’s AI-related workshops grow, so we knew there was interest; we put our heads together and asked, ‘what can we do to help?’"
Kiran Budhrani and Jordan Register
In spring 2023, CTL staff members Kiran Budhrani ’22 Ed.D., director of teaching and learning innovation, and Jordan Register ’13, ’19 M.S., ’23 Ph.D., faculty development specialist, organized the University’s first AI Institute for Smarter Learning, a daylong series of presentations, workshops and hands-on learning opportunities led by Charlotte faculty guiding their colleagues interested in learning more about AI and incorporating it into their teaching.
“AI was gaining momentum and people were a little anxious about it and what it meant for students, jobs, research,” said Budhrani. “Supporting faculty through new technologies is our strength. Over the previous year, we had watched registrations for CTL’s AI-related workshops grow, so we knew there was interest; we put our heads together and asked, ‘what can we do to help?’”
CTL’s Teaching and Innovation team designed the institute using faculty input, and more than 100 attended — a number that more than doubled for the second AI institute held this spring.
Cori Faklaris, assistant professor of software and information systems, delivered the plenary address at the inaugural institute. An explorer of emerging technologies and determined to understand AI as a “teammate” that offers a tool for mining complex information, she valued the opportunity to engage with colleagues whose backgrounds transcend her familiar computer science sphere.
Cori Faklaris, assistant professor of software and information systems, encourages students to view AI as a tool for mining complex information.
“It’s important that we all become literate in regard to these tools. We need them for every creative endeavor and to remain competitive. They are on the cutting edge of technology and we want to be part of the future, so that means we put ourselves where the future is going.”
-Cori Faklaris
Success breeds success
From the institute’s initial success and outcomes, CTL’s Teaching and Innovation team refined existing workshops to integrate new knowledge that, ultimately, improves students’ experiences. In addition, it collaborated with the School of Professional Studies to meet the demands of those outside the University, particularly, K-12 teachers and professionals from other fields. Together, they launched the Next-Generation Learning with Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools Professional Certificate.
UNC Charlotte’s leadership and CTL’s influence regarding AI literacy reverberates beyond the Queen City. Universities from around the UNC System and several from across the country have reached out for guidance to develop their own AI institutes.
“Charlotte is several steps ahead of many other universities when it comes to AI and using it for teaching and learning,” said Register. “Some are reluctant to jump in because policy around AI in this realm is not yet fully developed. We know that promoting responsible use of AI will inform policy. In the meantime, we’ve chosen not to wait; it’s imperative to provide faculty with the skills they need to support our students.”
Deepening CTL’s EXPERTISE
This spring, the Center for Teaching and Learning appointed its first Faculty Fellows on Generative AI to spearhead events and support teaching innovation with generative AI on campus – and champion the use of AI across the curriculum.
“Faculty members and students unfamiliar with AI technology risk being left behind. We are responsible for making sure graduates enter the workforce prepared to use the tools available to them, and help them understand boundaries between appropriate and inappropriate use.”
– Mohamed Shehab
Software and Information Systems
“Students must be adept at using AI as they enter their careers. For example, hospitals are using AI to sync nurses’ digital tablets for electronic charting with patients’ ID bracelets, which use smart-watch technology to record updates and reduce the possibility of errors.”
– Meredith Troutman-Jordan
School of Nursing
What’s next?
While large language models such as ChatGPT offer unprecedented access to information, when it comes to research and higher education, responses to domain-specific, technical prompts sometimes can be ambiguous or incorrect due to the general-knowledge nature of their data sets. To provide consistently useful and accurate information for faculty and student inquiries, additional computational capacity is beneficial.
The College of Computing and Informatics is working to overcome such a potential obstacle through the creation of a customizable large language model that makes it possible for faculty members to add course-specific data to an existing database — and enter guardrails that prohibit the LLM from generating specific responses, such as the answers to final exams.
Chenglong Fu, assistant professor of software and information systems, and his team have launched a prototype LLM service, currently available within CCI, and are in the process of surveying college faculty to gauge their needs.
“To accommodate a broader range of applications and an increasing user base, there exists a need to expand our current computing infrastructure for fine-tuning and instructing LLMs and providing LLM customization university wide,” Fu said. “This way we can continue to meet the growing demands of UNC Charlotte’s academic community and facilitate cutting-edge research and educational activities.”
Susan Messina is director of strategic content in the Office of University Communications.