CELT Launches 5th Cohort of Teaching Innovation Institute, Focusing on Generative AI

Yesterday, CELT launched the fifth (and largest) cohort of our Teaching Innovation Institute with faculty from 12 colleges and 24 departments or schools. This year-long, transdiciplinary program brings together faculty teacher-scholars and leaders in the spirit of collaboration and community to enhance the educational mission of the University of Kentucky.

When Jill Abney and I designed the Institute in 2019—much of that work done in front of the fish tank at Coffea—we imagined it as an agile program that would seek the most urgent challenges and opportunities in higher education at that particular moment in time. This fifth cohort will be immersed in the world of generative AI as it implicates how we teach, learn, research, communicate, work, and, ultimately, how we understand ourselves and each other in higher education and beyond. We have big plans for this cohort and will be excited to share their work with the community.

It's important to us in CELT and at UK to engage with generative AI in this way as we collectively move from experiment to design, from workshop to work/life when it comes to our conceptions, perceptions, approaches, strategies, and implementations of this still-volatile technology. I'm proud of the work that CELT has done as a "first responder" and continuing leader on campus not only with respect to teaching and learning but with the broader issues, implications, and information about generative AI.

The day before our Institute launched, CELT held its 80th event on generative AI. It was a feature topic of nearly 20% of all our consultations for the 2023-24 academic year. We've worked with faculty, staff, students, community members, and colleagues near and far on how we can make the most of this development in service to our mission, values, and goals as a University.

I'm proud of all we've done, and excited about what's to come.