Session Descriptions
\nSession 1 \u2014 Critical AI Literacy as a Foundation for Academic Integrity<\/p>\n
Presented by Michelle Kaschak<\/a>, associate teaching professor of English<\/p>\n This session emphasizes that meaningful academic integrity in the AI era requires more than detection \u2014 it requires teaching critical AI literacy. Kaschak explains how helping students understand, evaluate and ethically use AI is foundational to maintaining trust in academic work. She highlights practical classroom approaches such as process-based assessment, transparency activities, and critical evaluation of AI-generated content. The session encourages faculty to shift from reactive policing to proactive skill-building that empowers responsible student use of AI. Kaschak draws on her research and award-winning teaching to illustrate how AI literacy can strengthen writing instruction.<\/p>\n Session 2 \u2014 Designing for Integrity: Building AI-Resistant Learning Environments<\/p>\n Presented by Denise Ogden<\/a>, professor of marketing, and Eileen Grodziak<\/a>, instructional designer, Smeal College of Business<\/p>\n In this session, Ogden and Grodziak address how generative AI is reshaping teaching practices and challenging traditional models of academic integrity. The presenters explore strategies for designing assignments that reduce reliance on AI tools by emphasizing authenticity, critical thinking, and real-world application. They discuss how intentional course design can foster environments where students think independently and demonstrate their own learning. Ogden and Grodziak share examples from their work in business education and instructional design to illustrate how assignments can be structured for integrity and relevance. The session provides faculty with actionable approaches to preserving meaningful learning in AI-disrupted classrooms.<\/p>\n Session 3 \u2014 AI, Academia, and Awareness<\/p>\n Presented by Tiffany A. Petricini<\/a>, associate teaching professor of communication, Penn State Behrend<\/a><\/p>\n Petricini presents findings from her research on how Penn State students, faculty and staff are using generative AI across campuses. Drawing from surveys, reflective projects, and insights from the Behrend AI Taskforce, she outlines emerging trends in ethical concerns, instructional readiness, and attitudes toward AI. Petricini highlights new initiatives at Penn State Behrend related to AI literacy, faculty development, and community partnerships. The session invites participants to discuss how these findings can inform policy, pedagogy, and shared governance across the Penn State system. Attendees leave with a clearer sense of how AI is reshaping academic culture and classroom practice.<\/p>\n Session 4 \u2014 AI Literacy and Digital Privacy for Educators<\/p>\n Presented by Pedro Robles<\/a>, assistant teaching professor of cyber analytics and operations and Rifat Sabbir Mansur<\/a>, assistant teaching professor of IST<\/p>\n This session introduces faculty to essential concepts in AI literacy and the digital privacy issues increasingly relevant in higher education. Robles and Mansur explain how AI tools can enhance instruction \u2014 improving clarity, formative feedback, and accessibility \u2014 while also presenting risks related to misinformation, algorithmic bias and data exposure. They provide practical guidance for protecting student information, setting responsible-use expectations, and navigating privacy considerations when integrating AI into coursework. The presenters also discuss emerging research related to cybersecurity, AI governance and AI-supported learning. Faculty gain concrete strategies for ethical, privacy-conscious implementation of AI technologies in the classroom.<\/p>\n Session 5 \u2014 From Prompt to Proof: Pedagogy for AI Literacy<\/p>\n Presented by Stephanie Gresh<\/a>, assistant teaching professor of business<\/p>\n In this interactive workshop, Gresh introduces AI-First Reverse Bloom\u2019s Taxonomy (AI-RBT), an emerging pedagogy that reimagines learning by using AI tools as scaffolds for deeper understanding. She guides participants through a four-step process piloted in an introductory AI course, demonstrating how students can engage with AI to develop stronger analytical and creative skills. Attendees transform one of their own assignments in real time, leaving with a fully scaffolded version ready for classroom use. Gresh emphasizes accessibility for all faculty, regardless of technical skill, and highlights the importance of human-centered teaching in an AI-driven world. The session underscores how structured AI use can enhance integrity, rigor and student agency.<\/p>\n Session 6 \u2014 Use of Generative AI in the Research Classroom<\/p>\n Presented by Andjela Kaur<\/a>, assistant teaching professor in biobehavioral health, with students Kiara Padilla and Cora Oberly<\/p>\n This presentation explores how generative AI can function as a contributor to trans-disciplinary research, particularly within a 300-level biobehavioral health course. Kaur and her student collaborators describe how AI tools were used to generate and integrate diverse biological, psychological, cultural and social perspectives during the research process. They share findings from an auto-ethnographic study that examined whether AI can serve as an epistemic perspective and meaningfully support knowledge production. The presenters discuss the opportunities and limitations of AI in trans-disciplinary inquiry and how its use can help students understand complexity in real-world problems. The session highlights AI\u2019s potential role in expanding frameworks for collaborative, integrative research.<\/p>\n Session 7 \u2014 Human\u2013AI Collaboration with Prompt Engineering Skills<\/p>\n Presented by Subhadra Ganguli<\/a>, assistant professor of business<\/p>\n Ganguli leads a hands-on session focused on teaching students and faculty how to collaborate effectively with large language models such as ChatGPT and Copilot. Participants learn the fundamentals of prompt engineering and practice writing prompts tailored to tasks in their disciplines or professional roles. Ganguli emphasizes the importance of developing AI collaboration skills as part of academic and workplace readiness. She also connects the session to her ongoing research on human\u2013AI collaboration and sustainable decision-making in business contexts. The workshop is designed to be accessible for both experienced users and beginners interested in strengthening their AI communication skills.<\/p>\n Session 8 \u2014 Exploring AI\u2019s Potential to Assist Research<\/p>\n Presented by Wenpeng Yin<\/a>, assistant professor, Computer Science & Engineering<\/a>, Penn State University, University Park<\/p>\n In this session, Yin explores AI\u2019s emerging role as a transformative force in scientific research and discovery. He discusses how AI can accelerate or automate components of the research pipeline, from generating equations and designing experiments to critiquing scholarly work and assisting in scientific writing. Yin distinguishes between \u201cAI for AI research,\u201d where AI pushes the boundaries of its own capabilities, and \u201cAI for science,\u201d where AI helps advance breakthroughs across STEM fields. The presentation highlights cutting-edge applications such as high-resolution image analysis, mathematical problem-solving and modeling complex systems through differential equations. Attendees gain insight into the future of AI as a true intellectual partner in scientific innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Session Descriptions Session 1 \u2014 Critical AI Literacy as a Foundation for Academic Integrity Presented by Michelle Kaschak,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-58420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}