Pedagogical Uses for Teaching With AI - Swarthmore College

Are you a faculty or instructional staff member who is cautious yet curious to learn more about using AI from a pedagogical perspective?

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a growing interest among faculty in exploring the potential of generative AI (AI) to support teaching, learning, and research across campus.

In response, Academic Technologies and the Teaching and Learning Commons are collaborating to launch a new Teaching With AI Pilot Program. This pilot is designed for faculty who are curious about using AI pedagogically and are interested in experimenting and integrating the use of AI into their courses.

Purpose and Goals

This pilot program is designed to support faculty who are interested in exploring pedagogical uses for AI. We realize there is a large amount of skepticism and caution around using AI for teaching, learning, and research paired with a lot of curiosity. Because of this, we’re creating a supportive space to help guide those who are curious to experiment, explore and help shape the culture around the use of AI at Swarthmore in a collective, collaborative format.

Support You’ll Receive:

Hands-On Workshops: We’ll provide hands-on workshops focused on AI tools and cover the ethics surrounding them. Learn about AI tools such as ChatGPT, NotebookLM, and/or Gemini.
Receive Guidance: Need help selecting an AI tool? We can help you select the right tool to test for a future course, program, or project.
Access to AI Tools: Are there AI tools you’ve been wanting to try? Receive support for purchasing new AI tools.
Peer Learning Community: Connect with other faculty members who are also exploring AI in their teaching as well.

This collaborative space allows you to learn, experiment, and hear from other faculty’s experiences in a supportive environment.

Your Role in the Program:

As a participant, you’ll:

Attend hands-on workshops to gain a foundational understanding of AI tools, AI ethics, and effective prompt engineering.
Hear from other faculty who are using AI from a pedagogical perspective.
Select an AI tool that aligns with your course goals to experiment with.
Contribute to the learning community by sharing your insights and experiences with colleagues.

Proposal Guidelines:

We’re looking for proposals that include:

How you plan to use AI in your course (e.g., assignments, activities, research, digital projects, etc.).
What you’re hoping to learn or improve, whether it’s student engagement, critical thinking, creativity, etc.
Any ethical considerations you’re keeping in mind.

Who should apply:

Faculty and instructional staff who are curious about AI and are willing to try new approaches in their courses. No prior AI experience is required—we welcome everyone from beginners to those with some background.

We’re looking for faculty and instructional staff who are open to learn and experiment with AI tools, and willing to share their experiences with colleagues in a supportive community.

Questions:

If you’re not sure how to get started, Academic Technology is happy to discuss more with you and help you think through what might be possible with AI for your courses. Please email us at acadtech@swarthmore.edu with any questions.