AI in Teaching and Learning Collective fosters faculty exploration

The Auburn University Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (Biggio Center) supports faculty learning communities that bring instructors together around timely topics. Among these initiatives, the AI in Teaching and Learning Collective focuses on how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping teaching, learning and academic work. As AI tools become more accessible to students, staff and faculty, conversations about their responsible use have become increasingly urgent across higher education.

Designed as a faculty learning community, the collective brings instructors together to examine how AI appears in their courses. Participants explore practical classroom applications while also considering ethical and instructional implications. Faculty at all levels of familiarity with AI are welcome to participate.

The collective is led by DeElla Wiley, educational development specialist at the Biggio Center, and Virginia Broffitt Kunzer, professor of music in the College of Liberal Arts and Biggio Faculty Fellow. Together, they guide discussions on both the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI in higher education. 

A key strength of the collective is its cross-disciplinary participation. Faculty from a range of academic areas share perspectives and explore how AI functions differently across disciplines.

“This community has become a place for ethical thinking and debate about AI,” said Wiley. “We use case studies to discuss topics ranging from the development of griefbots to the use of AI for sentencing recommendations to the pressure students feel to turn to AI. These conversations invite faculty to consider these situations through their disciplinary perspectives as well as their personal beliefs and values, and to share those perspectives with others.”

The format allows instructors to compare approaches and consider how assignments, policies and expectations might evolve.

“In the collective, we don't shy away from the hard questions about student learning, academic integrity and what education even means when the tools keep changing beneath us,” said Broffitt Kunzer. “What makes this collective special is the honesty. These conversations aren't just about next semester; they're about the next decade and beyond.”

Participants leave with strategies they can apply in their courses and greater clarity about how they approach AI-related decisions. 

“The discussion has been stimulating, and there are ideas I have heard here, such as better ways to write AI statements, that I will use in future classes,” said Edward Davis, associate professor and graduate program officer in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Other participants echoed Davis’s emphasis on meaningful dialogue and practical takeaways from the collective.

“The questions encourage meaningful conversation in both breakout and full-group settings. I leave each session with new perspectives, a willingness to reexamine my own teaching practices and greater confidence in applying what I’ve learned,” said Whitnie Willis, assistant clinical professor in the College of Nursing.

The AI in Teaching and Learning Collective reflects the Biggio Center’s ongoing commitment to supporting faculty as teaching practices evolve. The series is open to faculty throughout the year. Faculty can learn more by visiting the Biggio Center website.