On September 26, a group of Duke faculty representing several disciplines gathered in person for the first meeting of the new “Teaching in the Age of AI” Faculty Learning Community (FLC), led by Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, and supported by CARADITE. Attendees exchanged introductions and reflected on their attitudes toward generative AI — a mix of excitement and caution — and their motivations for joining this new venture.
“I felt truly enlightened and inspired,” Yan Liu, Associate Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, shared about the first meeting. “The conversations in both our small groups and the larger discussions opened my eyes to the many ways AI can be understood and applied, offering perspectives I hadn’t considered before. I especially appreciated connecting with colleagues from other language programs and across disciplines—it created a genuine sense of community and reminded me of the value of learning together.”
A Community of Contrasting Views
The FLC is not an endorsement of AI; rather, it invites faculty to engage in critical and creative exploration of generative AI and teaching. As a result, cohort members represent not only a variety of disciplines but also a spectrum of attitudes toward AI.
“From this cohort, I hope to share my experiences and gain further insight into the skills students will need to effectively utilize AI as a partner. I am hoping to create scenarios that help students learn foundational concepts, better explore nuances to deepen their understanding, and iterate solutions to give them confidence in justifying their choices. I am also looking forward to different perspectives on how to transform our courses by balancing the use of traditional pedagogy with AI,” said Robert Duvall, Senior Lecturer of Computer Science.
Not every member of the cohort is as eager to incorporate AI into their teaching.
“To be honest, I’ve been hiding my head in the sand when it comes to AI. My inclination is to resist it, not only because it demands so many human and material resources but also because it is presented as the Next Great Technology in a world straining under the ‘advancements’ of past technological ‘achievements.’ I worry about students out-sourcing their critical thinking and writing skills in a way that undermines their ability to develop creative responses to the many problems and joys that await them,” said Jennifer Knust, Professor of Religious Studies. “But I know that I need to find ways to work with the technology that supports student creativity and learning, and it’s clearly past time for me to learn to do that. What could be better than a seminar for learning something new together?”
A Year of Inquiry, Experimentation, and Sharing
This FLC is built around active, scaffolded exploration and design. Over the course of the academic year — from fall 2025 through spring 2026 — the FLC’s 16 participants will:
- Meet monthly, engaging with focused themes, guest speakers, and emerging research on AI in higher education.
- Design a pedagogical experiment, such as a revised assignment, new course component, or new course design proposal that takes AI into account.
- Implement and assess that design in the spring (in collaboration with students and a project researcher).
- Reflect and share by publishing or presenting their teaching artifact (such as a syllabus, assignment, or AI policy) and reflections on how generative AI shaped the student learning experience.
- Convene for retreats to deepen conversation, reorient perspectives, and build momentum.
- Share across disciplines — the cohort is intentionally multidisciplinary, so faculty in engineering, humanities, social sciences, languages, and beyond will intermingle and cross-pollinate ideas.
Whether participants begin the year with enthusiasm, skepticism, or somewhere in between, the structure encourages inquiry, iteration, and collective reflection.
Why This Work Matters
In many classrooms today, AI feels at once inevitable and elusive. The FLC gives faculty time and space to wrestle with the following questions together:
- What’s the relationship between our own understanding, practices, and beliefs about generative AI and our teaching?
- What do we most want students to learn and to experience in our classes? Why?
- How does generative AI challenge us to articulate and align with our core values and mission?
“If we want students to have a learning orientation around generative AI and its implications, then we should have it for faculty as well. This project provides an opportunity for faculty to learn alongside each other as they consider GAI both creatively and critically for their own work and fields, and for their teaching,” said Ahern-Dodson. “Students don’t experience the university in one class or one department, and as a multidisciplinary group we learn from each other’s perspectives and gain an appreciation for how students experience GAI policies, practices, and pedagogies across our campus.”
Collaborating with CARADITE
The FLC is supported by CARADITE as part of its Emerging Pedagogies Research Grant program, which supports and facilitates Duke faculty who are conducting early-stage research projects about emerging pedagogies and related student learning practices. Duke senior Liz Rommage (Public Policy ‘26) is a co-researcher on the project, and faculty participants will invite students in their spring courses to share their reflections.
Ahern-Dodson’s vision — to have faculty partner with students as learners — positions this FLC not as a one-off experiment but as a creative space for lasting pedagogical growth. Aria Chernik, CARADITE’s Faculty Director, is optimistic that this new model for collaborative pedagogical development and praxis can lead to more scalable and sustainable support for teaching excellence across Duke.
“This model allows us to collaborate authentically and deeply with faculty participants to understand their needs and hopes pertaining to GAI in education, which in turn will allow us to develop further programming and iterate responsive supports,” Chernik said. “Collaborative co-design is at the heart of CARADITE’s mission. Just as faculty are learning about teaching with GAI, we are learning about how we can best support that teaching.”
Meet the Cohort
Representing a wide range of disciplines — from engineering and environmental science to language studies and the humanities — the FLC reflects Duke’s commitment to exploring AI’s educational implications across fields:
- Betsy Albright – Nicholas School of the Environment, Environmental Social Systems Division
- Laura Bilanceri – Romance Studies, Italian Language Program
- Caitlin M. Donovan – Master of Arts in Teaching (Program in Education)
- Robert Duvall – Computer Science
- Tomeico Faison – Occupational Therapy-Ortho-School of Medicine
- Ana Fernandez – Romance Studies
- Jeff Glass – Electrical and Computer Engineering and Institute for Enterprise Engineering
- Jenifer Hamil-Luker – Sociology
- Wesley Hogan – History, Franklin Humanities Institute
- Emma Howell – Romance Studies
- Robin Kirk – Cultural Anthropology, Duke Human Rights Center
- Jennifer Knust – Religious Studies
- Andrea Larson – German Studies
- Yan Liu – Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)
- Siobhan Oca – Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Kerry Ossi-Lupo – Nicholas School of the Environment, Environmental Social Systems
Stay Tuned
There will be a public sharing of the FLC’s work with the larger Duke community in late spring. We hope their work will inspire others across disciplines and experience levels. This FLC is a model for how, together, we can explore how teaching and learning can evolve in generative AI’s wake: carefully, creatively, and collaboratively.
