Embracing AI in Teaching and Learning: Insights from the First Instructional Innovations Design Lab

How is AI impacting teaching and learning practices in higher education? Last spring, instructors and instructional designers considered this question in The Studio’s Instructional Innovations Design Lab for AI in Teaching and Learning. My colleague Erin Stapleton-Corcoran and I designed this workshop to help educational stakeholders leverage AI tools and strategies to enhance learning experiences at UIC. Participants included faculty and staff from the College of Business Administration, the College of Applied Health Sciences, the School of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Together, we explored innovative ways to harness AI’s potential in our teaching practices.

Design Lab Recap

The Instructional Innovations Design lab was a two-session workshop that utilized a design thinking approach. Design thinking is a creative problem-solving strategy that begins by considering the experiences of users (or learners, in our case) and moves through idea generation, prototyping, testing, and implementation. This framework offers ways to effectively navigate the evolving landscape of higher education, especially in light of the challenges posed by generative AI.

Our first session focused on understanding learners’ experiences with AI and exploring generative AI tools in relation to course objectives. This led to framing problem statements and collaboratively brainstorming possible solutions, such as using chatbots for patient simulations or AI for generating business plans. In the second session, participants presented refined instructional ideas in small groups, engaged in structured peer feedback, and planned implementation steps while considering potential barriers.

Some Key Takeaways

This collaborative process allowed us to draw some valuable insights.

1. All Perspectives are Valuable: Keeping up with rapidly evolving AI technology is challenging for everyone in education. Our workshop emphasized that we’re all learning together, regardless of level of expertise. We created an inclusive space for participants to share their unique insights, recognizing that each perspective contributes to our collective understanding. Michele Rodriguez Taylor, Assistant Director of Internship Programs & Employer Outreach in the School of Public Health, commented that, “Hearing from colleagues about their experience and concerns using AI in the classroom was incredibly helpful to me as an instructor with minimum AI experience. This range in utilization and opinion helped create a foundation from which we were able to address concerns and discuss potential next steps as a group – no matter where you fell on the spectrum of using AI. Similarly, Dr. Mirna Amaya, Instructor in the School of Public Health, said, “this workshop catered to diverse skill levels, creating a supportive community that embraces everyone without judgment.”
2. Start Small: Taking on big changes to a course can be daunting. In our workshop, many participants appreciated the flexibility of beginning with a single part of their course. This approach reminded participants that integrating generative AI doesn’t require a total curriculum redesign. Focusing on, for example, one discussion or a single activity can make the task feel more manageable. Mary Sullivan Kopale, Senior Instructional Designer in the College of Pharmacy, highlighted that she really appreciated the easy-to-use templates we provided in the workshop. She said, “They helped to clearly structure the AI activities we were developing and made for easy sharing of our plans with others.”
3. The Power of Peer Feedback: While sharing ideas can be intimidating, our workshop’s well-defined peer feedback process proved to be beneficial for our participants. Unlike traditional academic peer reviews that can feel long or unforgiving, our synchronous Zoom sessions fostered a sincere and supportive environment. This collaborative approach resulted in stronger teaching and learning strategies. Dr. Mirna Amaya, noted that “Connecting with fellow faculty members interested in learning more about AI was truly valuable. Through these interactions, we cultivated a vibrant community of learners, benefiting from each other’s insights and experiences.” Michele Rogriguez Taylor agreed, noting “It was a great learning environment where I felt supported and encouraged by my colleagues. As a result of this experience, I feel more confident in using AI as a teaching and learning tool going forward.”
4. An Opportunity to Refresh: The design thinking framework prompted reflection on our current teaching methods, offering fresh insights on the ways we present content. While the process began with a focus on generative AI, it became a catalyst for revisiting our overall instructional practices. Cheryl McKearin, Instructor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, expressed that “The design thinking process encouraged me to adopt a student-centered approach when integrating AI. It inspired me to experiment with small, iterative changes to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.

Overall, this workshop equipped participants with skills that fostered collaboration for navigating AI in higher education. Personally, as an instructional designer, this experience broadened my understanding of AI’s potential in education and connected me with like-minded educators.

Missed the Sessions? You Can Still Benefit

If you missed the Instructional Innovations Design Lab, we encourage you to register for Leveraging Design Thinking for Educational Innovation in the Age of Generative AI, a similar two-session workshop this fall. As Mary Sullivan Kopale remarked, “You will leave with a real product that you can use in your course, along with confidence that you can successfully and easily integrate some AI into your teaching.”

Meanwhile, these are some suggestions you can use to improve your course now:

1. Try Out the Tools: Get hands-on with generative AI tools yourself to build intuition around their capabilities and limitations. Try asking a chatbot something you might ask one of your students. How does it respond?
2. Join the Conversation: Even if you feel like a novice, your perspective is important and we encourage you to join the Microsoft Teams Channel for AI in Teaching and Learning at UIC. This channel is a place where you can stay informed about AI as it relates to teaching and learning. We aim to build a community where we can learn together.
3. Facilitate a Feedback Session: Organize a low-stakes peer feedback session with your colleagues to collectively strengthen your AI integration ideas. We suggest agreeing on a framework at the beginning, recruiting a note taker to ensure you record everything that was suggested, and starting off with a “yes, and…” approach – meaning rather than first identifying flaws, instead begin by offering ways to support or augment the presented idea (a great way to keep things positive as well as generate new and interesting strategies).

The full impact AI will have on education is still unknown. Nevertheless, it has sparked an ongoing journey of reflection, exploration, and evolution. At the Studio, we’re excited to foster a collaborative environment where we can learn and innovate alongside UIC’s dedicated faculty and staff.