Illinois State’s Office of the Cross Endowed Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has announced a pilot initiative in partnership with the Adaptive Edge Institute to support SoTL projects at the University that address how students and faculty are using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the classroom.
“At Illinois State University, we have agreed to conceptualize SoTL as ‘systematic reflection/study on teaching and learning (of our ISU students) made public.’ The ISU definition of SoTL was the product of a long discussion in 1998-1999 by a group of administrators, faculty, staff, and students to represent all colleges and other units and constituencies on campus.”
Kathleen McKinney, 2002-2016 Cross Endowed Chair
Using a hub-and-spoke model of inquiry, Illinois State faculty are invited to submit spoke projects that address the hub question, “How is GenAI being used/not used, understood, and/or integrated in higher education settings, and what are its implications for teaching and learning at ISU?” Detailed information about the call for proposals and submission information can be found at the Office of the Cross Chair website.
“Illinois State has always been a leader in SoTL, and this grant program will help scholars on our campus ensure that we can also be a leader in studying artificial intelligence in a teaching and learning context,” said Dr. Jennifer Friberg, Cross Endowed Chair in SoTL and professor of communication science and disorders. “It is vital that we document and study our classroom practices with AI so that lessons learned by our faculty can inform instruction in other settings.”
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to the following:
- How first-year students use GenAI to revise writing assignments
- Ethical dilemmas students face when integrating GenAI in communication projects
- The role of GenAI in STEM lab report creation or code generation
- Tutor strategies in supporting GenAI-assisted writing in academic support spaces
- Professional judgment and GenAI in graduate-level clinical preparation
- Preservice teachers’ understanding of AI’s place in kindergarten-12 education
This program will support awardees with $2,000 in funding to be used for stipends, materials, or other project needs, ongoing consultations with SoTL mentors, and optional Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocol support and writing guidance. Friberg will be offering a session of the Adaptive Edge Institute series “Gladly We Teach, Learn, and Research with AI,” focused on how to conduct SoTL inquiries about AI, on October 1 in advance of the submission deadline.
The application period for these grants is now open. Illinois State faculty and course instructors are invited to submit their applications for funding to Friberg by Friday, October 17, at 5 p.m.; questions about the grant program can also be directed to her.
About the Cross Chair
K. Patricia Cross endowed the Cross Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University in honor of her father, Clarence L. Cross, a beloved teacher of physics at Illinois State for over 30 years. The office of the Cross Chair supports and enables the demonstration of Illinois State University’s commitment to the promotion of scholarship and research in teaching as a discipline. Illinois State has the only such university-wide endowed chair in SoTL in the world.
