Friday, December 8th, China time/Thursday, December 7th, EST

In the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is a growing recognition of the implications of integrating AI into education. It is the time to discuss the opportunities and limitations, explore the use of AI in teaching and learning, and reimagine the future of higher education. The showcase will feature case studies of adopting innovative teaching and assessment strategies in response to the emerging technologies.

This university-wide event includes inspiring keynote speech, lightning talks, faculty-student panel discussions, guest talk, and networking sessions. Throughout the day, attendees will have ample opportunities to exchange ideas, gain insight into student perspectives, and share best practices with their peers.

Keynote Speech by Dr. Bryan Alexander    watch the recording (slides)

Featured Faculty Lightning Talks   watch the recording

Going Old-school in New Ways by Renee Richer, Biology

Socrates in the Machine: LLMs as Interlocutors by Daniel Weissglass, Philosophy

Linking Behavioral Science Teaching with Real-World Challenges by Claudia Nisa, Behaviour Science

Exploring Generative AI for Graduate-level Academic Writing: Pedagogy, Reflection, and Research by Joseph Davies, English Language and Benjamin Gutscher, English Language

Teaching and Research for Precision Health and Medicine Using AI-Generated Contents by Ming-Chun Huang, Data and Computational Science and student: Zilin Jiang’24

Student and Faculty Panel: Navigating ethics, academic policies, and student needs in the age    watch the recording

• Moderator: Sebastián Portilla’25 (Institutions and Governance, public policy track)
• Faculty panelists: Prof. Junyi Li (English Language), Prof. Paul Stanley (Physics; Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies), Prof. Kaizhu Huang (Electrical and Computer Engineering; Director of Data Science Research Center)
• Student panelists: Tianyu Xu’25 (Psychology), Xinyue Liu’25 (Molecular BioScience), Muhammad (Ajlal) Ajlal’26

Guest Talk: Oral Exams: An Ancient Tool to Foster Learning in Modern Education   watch the recording

• by Dr. Huihui Qi, Associate Teaching Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego
• Description: Oral exams as a testing tool date back to ancient times.  Its dialogic and adaptive nature allows effective assessment of students’ mastery and upper limit of knowledge. Instructors benefit from a deeper understanding of students’ thought processes, which, in turn, nurtures productive thinking.  Students, on the other hand, receive targeted and relevant feedback on their problem-solving approaches, enhancing their metacognition and guiding them towards deep and enduring learning, with the capacity for flexible knowledge retention and application. This is particularly crucial in the ever-evolving landscape of modern education, whether facing the opportunities and challenges presented by the era of artificial intelligence or navigating the complexities of remote teaching during a global pandemic. We need assessment tools to proactively promote academic integrity by fostering excellence, and oral exams are one of those tools.

  Despite their over two-millennia existence, oral exams continue to be unfamiliar and daunting for many instructors and students in contemporary education. Instructors often grapple with challenges in designing and implementing oral exams, while students require more guidance on how to prepare effectively for these assessments beyond simply being informed of their format.

  In this workshop, Dr. Huihui Qi will delve into the findings of an NSF-funded project focused on using oral exams to enhance students’ learning experiences. She will discuss the multifaceted advantages of oral exams, considering them as both an assessment tool and a feedback mechanism, and exploring their affective benefits. Furthermore, Dr. Qi will share her team’s experiences and resources developed to address the scalability challenges of oral exams. Finally, she will provide insights into the practical aspects of implementing oral exams, covering logistical preparations, strategies for preparing students effectively, and more.

  This project received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation under Award #2044472.