Artificial Intelligence: Empowering Community College Faculty

Session Description

With the rise of large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT, generative AI is poised to have a major impact on education. As an educator, it's important to understand what generative AI is and how it can be used as a tool in the classroom. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the process of teaching computers to think and make decisions in a similar way to humans. Essentially, it involves giving them a digital brain made of computer code. AI allows machines to learn from data, adapt to new information, and carry out tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as problem-solving, decision-making, and understanding natural language. It's important to note that while AI offers many advantages in education, there are also ethical and privacy considerations, such as data security and bias in algorithms, that must be addressed. Furthermore, AI should complement, not replace, the role of educators, as human guidance and mentorship remain crucial for holistic learning. Just like any other “new” technology, the first reaction by many faculty is fear, specifically in the realm of cheating and plagiarism. As a department that designs professional development (PD) for the faculty of their 10 colleges, guided by the Teaching and Learning Competencies we created, we designed PD that allowed faculty to overcome some of their fears and open up the possibilities that AI can offer for teaching and learning. This session will discuss the competencies and PDs offered. It will further illustrate how these PDs aided faculty in the design and delivery of their courses. Attendees will be able to take some of the strategies and approaches and implement them at their institutions right away.

Presenter(s)

Carla Ghanem
Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD)
Tempe, AZ, USA

Dr. Ghanem has over 20 years of teaching experience in a variety of disciplines, on various levels, and at various institutions. She has worked with curriculum and course design in all modalities for 15+ years and has supervised and trained instructors of all levels. She has designed and implemented interdisciplinary, learner-centered courses/projects. Dr. Ghanem has facilitated professional development for community college and university faculty in a variety of topics, such as learner-centered practices, assessment, technology, DEI, and design frameworks (e.g. Universal Design for Learning, Backward Design, etc.). Her expertise allows her to apply her knowledge when working with faculty and staff. She is a mentor to probationary faculty.

Dr. Ghanem has been an instructional designer at Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) for over five years. She is currently an instructional designer at the Maricopa Center for Learning and Innovation (MCLI). Before coming to MCLI, she worked as an instructional designer in the Center for Teaching and Learning at GateWay Community College. Carla Ghanem came to MCCCD from Arizona State University, where she was faculty and program director and coordinator. She is currently the Quality Matters Coordinator for the District.

Dr. Carla Ghanem received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Applied Linguistics & Cultural Studies from The University of Texas at Austin where her dissertation focused on instructors' identities and teaching practices, specifically with regard to teaching culture. She has three M.A.s in American Studies, Applied Linguistics, and German, an M.Ed, and an M.S. in Mathematics.