DBU Faculty Workshops Engage AI and Digital Learning Technologies

As a part of their ongoing faculty training and development, DBU full-time professors spent the beginning of the week before the start of fall classes in attending annual workshops designed to equip them in improving teaching strategy. This year’s theme was "Igniting Engagement: Empowering Faculty and Students for Academic Success."

Dr. Norma Hedin, DBU Provost, and Dr. Justin Gandy, Associate Dean of the College of Business, led plenary sessions that addressed the lagging engagement of students across the country following the pandemic. Other faculty across disciplines led breakout sessions on more particular topics, such as enhancing faith integration and teaching methodology. In one session, a panel of professors shared from their own strategies for success in the classroom and guided the conversation using Dr. Robert Marzano’s The New Art and Science of Teaching.

Several sessions this year were devoted to discussing the effective and ethical use of digital technology in classroom learning, including "Digital Age Pedagogy: 5Ws and How," "Faculty Technology Resources," and "Technical and Faith-Soaked Instruction for GenZ Learners." Among the more popular workshops was one that addressed the disruption in higher education caused by generative AI, which was entitled "ChatGPT and AI for the Curious and Cautious." As this new technology continues to rapidly evolve and become more commonly used in society, DBU faculty discussed the academic uses and abuses of this new and unfamiliar pedagogical terrain.

"Our goal with each professional development opportunity is to provide our full-time and adjunct faculty with tools they can use in their classroom interaction with students," said Dr. Mark Hale, Associate Provost.  "This fall we focused on ways to help faculty engage with their students and take the learning experience to the next level. For example, helping students understand how to effectively and ethically integrate AI into their course work while maintaining creative and critical thinking control of their learning was a reoccurring topic of the professional development workshops and will continue to drive conversations as the technology continues to emerge."