Reinert Center Hosts Symposium
The Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning hosted a day-long event, Symposium on Teaching and Learning in the Context of AI at Saint Louis University on Friday, Oct. 2.
The day began with a faculty panel on ethics. The ideas shared in this session — thinking about “whether” and “why” as well as ethical approaches to “how” to use or not use generative and agentic AI in SLU courses — served as fruitful points of consensus and complication throughout the rest of the day’s conversations.
Other sessions focused on examples from faculty in multiple disciplines and types of courses. For instance, three faculty shared how they and their students use AI agents in their courses; their examples showed the myriad of ways agents can be used from helping with data, to acting as information repositories, to quizzing and much more, aiding in the instructors’ ability to shift their roles back to direct instruction and leading deeper conversations about course topics.
Other faculty shared examples of Designing Courses in the Context of AI, discussing small and large ways they are incorporating AI as well as accompanying students in creating a fuller understanding of whether and when using generative AI tools does or does not enhance their learning.
The symposium closed with a panel reflecting on the ideas of the day and the many guideposts for teaching and learning in this age that emerged.