CELT announces faculty cohort for 2024-25 Teaching Innovation Institute

Earlier this semester, the University of Kentucky Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) announced its call for applications for the 2024-25 CELT Teaching Innovation Institute.

This was a significant call for two reasons. First, it anticipated the milestone of the Institute’s fifth cohort. Since 2020, faculty in the Teaching innovation Institute have explored and implemented effective, engaging and inclusive learning opportunities for students in a collaborative and transdisciplinary environment. These faculty have also taken on leadership and mentor roles in their respective areas, spreading enthusiasm and insights in support of UK’s educational mission.

Second, the call announced a shift in focus for the Institute towards generative artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching, learning and higher education. By the end of May 2024, CELT will have facilitated 64 events, workshops, talks or presentations on generative AI since it became publicly available in the final weeks of 2022. We continue to consult individually with instructors, staff and students on the technical, ethical and rhetorical dimensions of this emergent and disruptive technology both at a high level as well as in specific disciplinary contexts.

The nature of those conversations has shifted dramatically over a short period of time. We now consider a widening spectrum of generative AI technologies with multimodal capabilities that are increasingly integrated into software suites and other digital tools. Generative AI technologies have become much more sophisticated while many limitations and concerns persist. The discourse on generative AI is energetic but also challenging for its mix of speculation and specialized knowledge, as well as a range of competing goals and agendas.

At CELT we are excited to announce the 2024-25 Teaching Innovation Institute faculty and look forward to learning alongside them. This cohort represents 11 colleges and 24 departments or schools across UK. Across all five cohorts, the Teaching Innovation Institute has reached 17 colleges and 57 departments or schools.

• Kristi Bartlett, Department of Product Design; College of Design
• Kari Benguria, School of Information Science; College of Communication and Information
• Roger Brown, Department of Agricultural Economics; Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment
• Juan Fernandez Cantero, Department of Hispanic Studies; College of Arts and Sciences
• Thom Cochell, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering; Pigman College of Engineering
• Emily DeWitt, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition; Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Abigail Firey, Department of History; College of Arts and Sciences
• Adriane Grumbein, Department of Integrated Strategic Communication; College of Communication and Information
• Whitney Hanley, Department of Early Childhood, Special Education and Counselor Education; College of Education
• Jason Hans, Department of Family Sciences; Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• April Hatcher, Department of Neuroscience; College of Medicine
• Jane Jensen, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation; College of Education
• Yeonjung Kang, Department of Retailing and Tourism Management; Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Patrick Lee Lucas, School of Interiors; College of Design
• Joe Martin, School of Information Science; College of Communication and Information
• Pratishtha Mishra, Department of Oral Health Practice; College of Dentistry
• Darshak Patel, Department of Economics; Gatton College of Business and Economics
• Michael Pennell, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies; College of Arts and Sciences
• Winter Phong, Department of Arts Administration; College of Fine Arts
• Kristel Scoresby, College of Social Work
• Pooja Sidney, Department of Psychology; College of Arts and Sciences
• Alice Turkington, Department of Geography; College of Arts and Sciences
• Kristine Urschel, Department of Animal and Food Sciences; Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Heather Worne, Department of Anthropology; College of Arts and Sciences
• Ozge Yalciner, Department of Curriculum and Instruction; College of Education

Faculty in the 2024-25 CELT Teaching Innovation Institute will dwell on these questions and issues with the goal of developing critical literacies, ethical approaches and strategic uses in curricula and pedagogy. Their innovations and insights will support not only their own students but also their colleagues and departments as we collectively adapt to a world with generative AI in ways that advance the University of Kentucky’s mission and position students for success in the workforce and beyond.

For more information about CELT, click here.