Limed: Teaching with a Twist

See our complete episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/ai-as-friend-or-foe-in-computer-science-2/.

Last month, we talked with student guests about artificial intelligence use in their computer science education. This month, we continue the conversation with Robert Duvall (Duke University) and Nisha Talagala (AIClub and AIClubPro) who share professional and faculty wisdom about AI in the classroom and eventually the workplace. Robert and Nisha wrestle with the tension between product and process and share some ways that incorporating AI into even the introductory computer science curriculum will be essential in preparing future developers. We wrap with our guest, Ryan Mattfeld, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Elon University, to continue exploring how an unrestricted AI course could shift goals and outcomes for student learning.

This episode was hosted and edited by Matt Wittstein and produced by Olivia Taylor in collaboration with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/ai-as-friend-or-foe-in-computer-science/.

The use of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT has become the topic of serious discussion in higher education. Ryan Mattfeld, associate professor of computer science at Elon University, shares with us some of his challenges in the introductory computer science classroom and the potential negative effects AI has in training future computer scientists. He also asks what could be possible in a course where students have very few restrictions on AI use. In this first part of a two episode series, we explore student perspectives with Anna David, a first-year computer science and robotics student at Carnegie Mellon University, and graduating computer science major, Arav Patel, from the University of Maryland. Anna and Arav share insights about AI use, as well as ideas of what is really most important to students in early computer science courses. The conversation sets the stage to learn about the faculty perspective in our next episode.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein and produced by Matt Wittstein and the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning, with editing and production support by Olivia Taylor. 

Episode art created by Matt Wittstein and Olivia Taylor.

Original music by Kai Mitchell.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/deepening-engagement-in-a-first-year-seminar/.

The first-year seminar is a challenging, yet impactful, space to introduce habits of mind that lead to long-term student success. In this episode, Adam Keul, Associate Professor of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Plymouth State University, discusses how he employs democratic practices in his first-year seminar course. He hopes to instill the power of agency and advocacy within an educational context that will allow his students to be critical thinkers and engaged citizens. He’s found that his students seem to prefer being told what to do and not having choices in their own education. Our panel – Sophia Abbot from the University of Rhode Island, Riley Alkove, an Elon University first-year economics major, and Anine Kelly, from the University of Cincinnati – share ideas about how to form better personal connections with first year students and the implications of co-creation at an early developmental stage for college students.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Olivia Taylor and Matt Wittstein, and produced by Olivia Taylor and Matt Wittstein in collaboration with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/asynchronous-hyflex-and-live-oh-my/

By necessity, ATI Physical Therapy uses elements of online, in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous learning in its residency programs. Jackie Davenport, Clinical Development Program Lead and Residency Director for ATI Physical therapy, is interested in learning more about developing her network of clinical educators to be prepared to create and sustain engagement with their students. asynchronous and how it could fit into the continuing education courses that ATI offers. Host Matt Wittstein shares Jackie’s context with Jesse Stommel from University of Denver, Dale Munday from the University of Central Lancashire, and Eric Mulford a senior Nursing major at Elon University. Their conversation considers different teaching modalities, hard versus soft rules (or policies versus social contracts) in the classroom, and how technology can be leveraged to enrich connection in this setting.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Olivia Taylor and Matt Wittstein, and produced by Olivia Taylor in collaboration with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/engineering-education-maintaining-rigor-fostering-empathy/

Matt Wittstein hosts Blake Hament from Elon University and Siobhan Oca from Duke University. Both are early career faculty teaching engineering courses and are considering ways to be empathetic while still maintaining the high expectations of engineering coursework. Our panel included Dr. Kay C. Dee, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Associate Dean of Learning and Technology, Dr. Bryan Dewsbury, Associate Professor of Biology at Florida International University and Director of the STEM Transformational Institute, and Tiffanie Grant, a third-year Exercise Science student and Center for Engaged Learning Student Scholar at Elon University. They share their experiences and philosophies on rigor, difficulty, empathy, authenticity, and developing resilience, and they provide some strategies to help balance rigor and empathy.

This episode was hosted and edited by Matt Wittstein and produced by Matt Wittstein in collaboration with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/transferring-mindsets-from-design-based-environments/

Dhvani Toprani hosts this month’s episode with her longtime colleague, Saadeddine (Saad) Shehab from the University of Illinois’ Siebel Center for Design. As the Director of Assessment and Research for the Siebel Center, Saad wants to identify strategies for near- and far- term assessment of the transfer of learning and mindsets in participants in their center’s workshops. Our panel included Sarah Bunnell, Director of Elon University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Adam Kanowitz, a senior Entrepreneurship and Innovation student at Elon University, and Dawan Stanford, President and Founder of Fluid Hive, a consultancy for using human-centered design for innovation. The panel discusses the challenges associated with measuring transfer and offer some ways to align assessment with goals.

This episode was hosted by Dhvani Toprani, edited by Matt Wittstein, and produced by Matt Wittstein in collaboration with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/journey-to-the-professoriate/

Pierce Johnson, a graduate student at the University of Albany, finds himself knowing he wants to be teaching-centered as a professor in the future, but his graduate program, as many are, emphasizes research. Host, Matt Wittstein talks to Pierce and a panel that included Marcela Borge from Penn State University, Leo Lambert, president emeritus of Elon University, and Sophie Miller, a first-year graduate student at Purdue University. Together, we talk about building a resume that aligns with your goals, considering how research and mentoring experiences develop teaching related skills, and even touch a bit on imposter syndrome.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Matt Wittstein and Olivia Taylor, and produced by Olivia Taylor in collaboration with Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/intersection-of-civil-discourse-and-the-first-amendment/.

Host Matt Wittstein joins this month’s guest, Israel Balderas, to discuss civil discourse in what is a tense political climate on many college campuses. Israel wants to ensure his Media Law and Ethics course is taking advantage of the opportunity to practice student-led discourse with an eventful political calendar and dynamic news cycles. Panelists Miriam Glaser Lipsky from the University of Miami, Timothy McCarthy from Harvard University, and Natalie Peeples, an Elon University Psychology student, share their beliefs about dialogue and civic engagement in higher education, discuss how to invite others into discussion, and provide some practical advice for building trust and civility in the classroom.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Olivia Taylor, and co-produced by Olivia Taylor and Matt Wittstein in partnership with the Elon University Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/refresh-critical-service-learning-letters-with-incarcerated-people/

In this episode, Matt Wittstein interviews Lucy Arnold from Season 1, Episode 1 - “Critical Service Learning: Letters with Incarcerated People.” Dr. Arnold is the Director of Educational Partnerships the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and has been connecting students with incarcerated people in her courses. She discusses her experiences with this service-learning activity and highlights several student experiences as well as a few challenges along the way.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Olivia Taylor, and produced by Matt Wittstein in collaboration with Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning.

See our full episode notes at: https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/refresh-preparing-students-to-be-literate-and-critical-ai-users/

This month, Matt Wittstein checks in with Dr. Jessica Gisclair from Season 2, Episode 1 “Preparing Students to Be Literate and Critical AI Users.” Jessica is an Associate Professor of Strategic Communication and was wrestling with strategies for preparing her students to use AI in her Media Law course at Elon University. In this episode, we learn about Jessica’s and her students’ experiences in her course, as well as a little about her research on artificial intelligence in legal and political spaces in China.

This episode was hosted by Matt Wittstein, edited by Olivia Taylor, and produced by Matt Wittstein in collaboration with Elon University’s Center for Engaged Learning.