The library at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) – a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university – recently organised a panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of teaching and learning in higher education.

Titled “Generative AI in Teaching and Learning: An Education City-wide Faculty Panel Discussion”, the panel comprised of faculty from QF partner universities in Education City.

The panellists were Rawan AlSaad from Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, Chadi Aoun from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Jorg Matthias Determann and Jesse Payne from VCUarts Qatar, Sam Meekings and Spencer Striker from Northwestern University in Qatar, James Cleon Olsen from Georgetown University in Qatar, and Mary T Queen from Texas A&M University at Qatar.

The discussions were moderated by the organisers of the event, the VCUarts Qatar library's Jacqulyn Ann Williams (head of Teaching, Learning, and Strategic Initiatives and associate professor) and Nicole Abiad (Writing Centre co-ordinator).

Opening the session, VCUarts Qatar dean Amir Berbic said: "The integration of AI in education is not merely a trend; it is a transformative force that has the potential to redefine how we teach, learn, and interact within our academic environments.”

“Together, we can explore how to harness the potential of AI to enrich teaching and learning, and ultimately, to foster a more effective and equitable educational experience for all,” he said.

Some of the topics discussed were the existence, or lack, of university policies regarding the use of generative AI within classrooms, student disclosures with regard to the use of AI in academic projects, the opportunities that AI creates in university teaching and learning, the impact of AI-related university policies on individual faculty’s teaching, the relationship between AI, copyright and intellectual property (IP) rights, AI and data privacy and liability, and how data is used by AI tools, to name a few.

“The Education City-wide faculty panel discussion on generative AI in teaching and learning was a successful multiversity event and a powerful reminder of the uniqueness of the Education City model,” Williams said. “The 130+ faculty attendees who joined us and enriched our discussion with their thoughtful questions and contributions made the session even more impactful.”

“During the event, faculty and experts with different disciplinary expertise and experience discussed institutional policies, ethics, opportunities, challenges, and their approaches to using AI in the classroom,” she said. “ Key takeaways from the discussion include developing students' critical AI literacy skills, discussing responsible usage of AI in the classroom to ensure students are equipped with the knowledge to use AI ethically, and incorporating AI as a collaborative tool, focusing on how AI can augment human creativity, originality, and ingenuity.”

 

 

 

 

 

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