9:30 AM – 10:10 AM
Using AI to Increase Student Engagement and Interest in Course Content and Skill Development
Jon Spike
This presentation explores the use of personalized weekly instructor messaging and student choice opportunities to improve student engagement and perceived value of course content for Generation Alpha learners. Drawing on research highlighting Gen Alpha’s preference for authentic, relevant, and individualized communication and assessment, the project uses student survey data and a secure AI tool to align weekly course material with students’ academic goals, interests, and career aspirations. The session will also explore AI-infused projects to engage generation alpha learners in authentic experimentation with emerging tools.
Room: UC261
Learning Chemistry: What a Pitch
Steven Girard
This presentation outlines an entrepreneurial pitch project embedded in introductory undergraduate chemistry courses that connects core chemical concepts to real‑world problem solving. Students work in teams to develop and present short pitches proposing chemistry‑based products, processes, or services, integrating course content with innovation and societal impact. The session shares project design, interdisciplinary collaboration with business and entrepreneurship partners, and assessment strategies used to evaluate student learning, communication, and engagement—highlighting how the model aligns with Generation Alpha’s preference for purpose‑driven, collaborative, and applied learning.
Room: UC262
Reducing Student Cognitive Load and Boosting Motivation through Course Scaffolding
Kim Ehrhardt
Differences in prior knowledge have important implications for how instruction should be structured within the same classroom. This session examines the instructional value of teaching novices and experts differently, drawing on cognitive load theory, self‑determination theory, and research on the expertise reversal effect. An adaptive approach is described in which instructional structure is adjusted lesson by lesson to align with students’ developing expertise. The session also outlines assessment strategies—including readiness checks, performance data, and student surveys—used to examine the impact of this differentiated approach on learning and student engagement.
Room: UC264
Constructing Phenomena-Centered Instructional Resources for Future Teachers
Adam Schafer
Learn how a collaborative professional development model helps teacher candidates design phenomena-centered units, co-create resources, and troubleshoot problems of practice. The session shares design features, participant artifacts, and discourse patterns, alongside emerging models for how future teachers shape learning environments and support peer sensemaking. Attendees will take away structures they can adapt for interdisciplinary, coherence-building instruction.
Room: UC266
10:20 AM – 11:00 AM
AI for Neurodivergent Learners
Michael Betker
Introducing Myth-OS, a next-generation learning system that transforms how students interact with AI—from passive tool use to active cognitive engagement. Built on Recursive Symbolic Intelligence, Myth-OS helps learners identify patterns in their thinking, translate insight into action, and develop creative coherence over time. Designed with neurodivergent learners in mind, the system reduces friction around executive function by structuring reflection through story, symbol, and guided interaction. Early classroom results show a measurable shift toward sustained engagement, deeper self-recognition, and more intentional creative output. This session explores how AI can move beyond efficiency toward meaning-making, and what it takes to design learning environments that meet the cognitive realities of the next generation.
Room: UC261
Designing Courses for Student Agency: Cycled, Community-Connected Courses
Veronica Soria-Martinez
This presentation describes a cyclic course design for teacher preparation built around four-week sequences of modeling, community of practice, planning, and teaching in community settings, followed by reflection and iteration. Grounded in the learning needs of post‑pandemic, digital‑native students, the structure prioritizes meaningful experiences, relationships, and student agency. The presentation also shares qualitative insights from student reflections, artifacts, and discussions to illustrate how the model supports learning and professional identity development.
Room: UC262
The Syllabus as a Genre
Amy Menzel
Learn how prompting students to design a mini-course and mini-course syllabus — on a topic of interest or on an assigned topic related to your curriculum — can help them further develop and demonstrate their synthesis skills. A unit outline, lesson plans, and teaching materials will be shared. Student perspectives (including insight on what students want in syllabi) and student examples from English 100/101 will also be shared.
Room: UC264
Using GIS to Empower Student Autonomy and Learning
Jeff Olson + Eric Compas
GIS can promote authentic, student‑centered work. This session examines AI‑supported GIS labs and StoryMpas that use structured prompts, reflections, and comparisons with traditional workflows to help students frame analyses, generate and debug Python, and critically evaluate results. Presenters will share example tasks, scaffolds, and assessment approaches that support technical rigor, autonomy, and meaningful learning.
Room: UC266
11:10 AM – 11:50 AM
AI Tools For Student Engagement
Nicole Weber/Jon Spike + Brian Schanen/Camden Harland
AI‑supported tools can extend feedback, expert presence, and student engagement in writing‑ and communication‑focused courses. We describe an approach that pairs targeted guest speaker contributions with a custom AI “sidekick” to extend expert perspectives across the semester and support real‑world learning despite limited guest availability. We also explore lessons learned from piloting AI writing platforms—Packback and Visable AI—in undergraduate courses, focusing on real‑time feedback, student experience, and instructional challenges. Together, the presentations offer complementary insights into the opportunities and limits of AI‑mediated support for student writing and engagement.
Room: UC261
Blending art and science to enhance learning: Hand-Drawn Geology for Deeper Observation
Juk Bhattacharyya
This presentation describes the implementation of hand sketching as a learning strategy in an upper-level geology course to strengthen observation, critical thinking, and scientific communication. Designed for Generation Alpha students immersed in digital media, the project emphasizes drawing labeled sketches of rock and mineral samples to support deeper cognitive engagement than photography alone. The presentation shares course design, collaboration with an art educator, and qualitative assessments of student sketches, reflections, and peer critiques to illustrate learning gains and inform broader applications in geoscience education.
Room: UC262
Optimizing Software for Student Learning
Davazdahemami Behrooz + Amin Aslani
Supporting student learning in quantitative and computational courses often depends on timely feedback and structured progression from novice to more independent problem solving. This session introduces a GPT‑based coding coach aligned with Python for Everybody that provides stepwise hints and context‑aware guidance without revealing solutions. Designed to build metacognition and persistence, the tool offers immediate, personalized feedback for novice programmers, with evidence drawn from interaction patterns and learning outcomes. We also explore an inquiry‑based supply chain optimization module in which students model transportation problems using Excel Solver, progressing from guided cases to student‑designed scenarios. Assessment includes rubric‑based evaluations, discussion artifacts, and a brief student survey. Together, the presentations illustrate complementary approaches to supporting problem solving, feedback, and learner independence in technical courses.
Room: UC264
Student Take-Aways from Faculty-Led Travel Programs
Sue Wildermuth/Amal Ibrahim
This session shares the product of a UW-Whitewater Assessment Grant project that implements IRB-approve instruments to measure student learning in faculty-led travel programs and the transformative impact of travel as a high-impact practice. The presentation highlights how qualitative reflection artifacts inform systematic assessment design and offers a transferable model for faculty‑led travel and other high‑impact learning experiences.
Room: UC266
2:20 PM – 3:00 PM
AI-Enhanced Course Design
Matt Baier + David Simkins
AI is reshaping both instructional design processes and design‑based classroom practice. Presenters share case studies highlighting how AI supported content development, structure, and interactivity while remaining guided by instructional expertise. They also discuss AI use in a design‑based learning course, grounding practice in constructivist frameworks to explore how AI can scaffold authentic assignments and serve as a just‑in‑time learning tool. Together, the talks offer complementary perspectives on using AI thoughtfully to support learning design and student development.
Room: UC261
Using Simulations to encourage Authentic Learning
Larry Anderson
This presentation explores the redesign of an online simulation used in a CORE 140 Global Perspectives course to better align with the learning preferences of Generation Alpha. Rather than retrofitting the simulation into an existing structure, the project involves a front‑end course revision to more intentionally integrate the activity, emphasizing transparency, immediate feedback, and hands‑on, holistic learning. The presentation shares the rationale for the redesign, examples of revised course integration, and mixed‑methods assessment approaches comparing student engagement and learning outcomes in courses with and without the intervention.
Room: UC262
Promoting Campus Civil Discourse through Empathy, Humility, and Dialogue
Mastewal Seyeneh
This presentation profiles a campus civil discourse event engages counseling students with peers and international students to practice empathy, perspective-taking, and respectful disagreement. Pre/post mixed-methods assessment captures shifts in cultural humility and communication skills. Implementation insights and scaling strategies will be shared.
Room: UC264
Pushing Back Against Overreliance on AI: Implementing the R.E.A.C.H. for Integrity Campaign
Dan Stalder
I will present results from an initiative called, “R.E.A.C.H. for Integrity,” a classroom initiative designed to promote ethical academic behavior and reduce overreliance on AI. R.E.A.C.H.—Responsibility, Equity, Awareness, Courage, and Honesty—was introduced through targeted discussion, visual reminders on assessments, and embedded references throughout the course. Drawing on survey data comparing participating classes with a control group, the session shares evidence of increased student awareness of AI‑related risks and stronger intentions to act with academic integrity, highlighting the approach’s potential for scalable, cross‑disciplinary application.
Room: UC266
3:10 PM – 3:50 PM
Using an AI Teaching Assistant: Ups, downs, and student outcomes
David Beyea
This project examines the use of AI-powered Teaching Assistants (AITAs) embedded in university courses to support the learning needs of Generation Alpha. Students in Dr. Beyea’s classes receive 24/7 access to an AI assistant that provides responsive, personalized support for course content and assignments. By aligning with Generation Alpha’s preference for immediate feedback and intuitive technology, this initiative aims to inform future models of inclusive teaching support in higher education.
Room: UC261
Teaching Students Professionalism and Career Readiness
Lynn Gilbertson/Cody Busch + Kim Apel/Pilar Joseph/Grace Peterson/Tarryl Janik
Faculty and academic staff play a key role in helping students develop and communicate professional and career‑readiness skills. This session introduces a formative and summative assessment framework designed to support student growth in professional disposition skills that are essential for workplace success but often difficult to define and measure. We will also explore how instructors can make career‑readiness more visible by integrating the NACE Career Readiness Competencies into coursework, syllabi, and classroom conversations. Together, these presentations offer practical strategies for clarifying expectations, strengthening assessment, and helping students recognize and articulate transferable skills developed through their academic work.
Room: UC262
Feedback Reimagined: Moving from Surveys to Solutions
Heather Pelzel/Kim Naber
Relying solely on end‑of‑course evaluations limits instructors’ ability to respond to students while learning is still underway. This session proposes formative, just‑in‑time feedback strategies that support responsive teaching throughout the semester. Highlighted approaches include low‑stakes mid‑semester surveys, student consultants or focus groups, and digital backchannels that allow instructors to gather and act on feedback in real time. Emphasis is placed on transparently closing the feedback loop with students to build agency, trust, and instructional effectiveness, while also offering an alternative to traditional end‑of‑semester evaluation practices.
Room: UC264
Leveraging Navigate for Student Success
Jessica Stein/Esther Frontuto/Nathan Callope
So you’ve documented something in Navigate, now what? Join the Navigate team to see what the student experience in Navigate looks like, and how what you do in the platform impacts students. We’ll explore the student app, interventions, features in Navigate, and answer any questions you have about the platform.
Room: UC266
Posters
Blending Inquiry, Writing, and Critical AI Engagement
Andrea Romero
Inquiry‑based learning provides a strong foundation for teaching both research skills and responsible AI use. This project engages students in developing an environmental science research grant proposal, beginning with independent research and drafting before introducing AI as a reflective feedback tool alongside peer and instructor input. A mixed‑methods assessment evaluates changes in students’ research skills, writing confidence, and perceptions of AI’s role in the learning process.
AI Use with Accountability: What Students Report and Learn
Anna Lindell
Balancing ethical AI use with limited instructional time is an ongoing challenge in undergraduate teaching. This project examines a pragmatic course‑level AI policy designed to support Generation Alpha students’ critical engagement with AI through a reflective “AI statement” approach. Students are permitted limited AI use for tasks such as brainstorming and editing, while documenting and evaluating how AI supported their work. Drawing on descriptive data from multiple undergraduate courses, the project highlights patterns in self‑reported AI use, student perceptions of AI’s usefulness, and relationships between AI use and academic performance to inform realistic, transferable AI policy design.
Leveling Up Theatre/Dance: Craft, Credentials, and Pathways
Bruce Cohen
Rethinking arts education for Generation Alpha calls for programs that emphasize skill development, clarity of progression, and real‑world relevance. This project introduces the design of a reimagined Theatre and Dance curriculum that prioritizes craft‑centric, credential‑integrated pathways over abstract, passion‑only models. Drawing on game‑theory principles, the proposed structure organizes coursework and credentials as progressive levels with clear skill development, prerequisites, and industry‑aligned outcomes. The poster outlines the envisioned core curriculum, differentiated BFA and BA pathways, and early design work on modular credentials, partnerships, and AI‑enhanced feedback, offering a forward‑looking model for Gen‑Alpha‑ready performing arts education.
Real-World Data, Real-World Storytelling in Advanced Stats
Charu Rajapaksha
Replacing traditional exams with authentic, student‑driven assessment can deepen engagement in advanced statistics courses. This project redesigns the final assessment in an upper‑level statistics course by introducing a data‑based project in which students select and analyze real‑world datasets connected to their personal or professional interests. Applying experimental design and ANOVA techniques, students communicate findings through multimedia formats that emphasize collaboration and interpretation. The project aligns with Generation Alpha’s preference for personalized, authentic learning while strengthening applied statistical reasoning and peer‑to‑peer learning through a structured project showcase and feedback process.
From Classroom to Career: Integrating Professional Development Through a Career Compass Project Framework
Courtney Powers
Supporting Generation Alpha learners requires course designs that foreground collaboration, inquiry, and digital fluency. This poster focuses on the design and execution of a scaffolded inquiry career compass project in an applied workplace competencies course. Supported by the UWW Teaching and Learning Grant, this project guided students through career exploration, informational interviews, and team‑based resource development that connects academic learning to professional pathways. Ultimately, this project illustrates how personalized, collaborative learning environments can enhance student engagement, skill development, professional development, and readiness for a connected, technology‑driven workplace.
Designing Tabletop Stories: A Collaborative Media Lab
Donald Jellerson
Interactive storytelling offers a powerful way to build media literacy and creativity for Generation Alpha learners. This project designs a collaborative storytelling laboratory that uses tabletop role‑playing games (TTRPGs) as a framework for student‑driven inquiry and creation. Grounded in emergent digital storytelling practices, students analyze existing TTRPG models and “actual play” formats before designing humanist‑centered games and producing recorded storytelling performances for online platforms. Through research, game design, and audio‑visual production, students move from content consumers to content creators, developing transferable storytelling and media skills while exploring how interactive narratives can foster connection, creativity, and positive social impact.
Communicating Personal Sampling: An Industrial Hygiene Case
Donna Vosburgh
Communicating effectively during personal sampling is a critical yet challenging skill for early‑career safety professionals. This project develops a new case study for an upper‑level Industrial Hygiene course that focuses on strengthening students’ communication skills when entering a worker’s personal space. Recognizing that Generation Alpha students may have fewer in‑person professional interactions and heightened concerns about public failure, the case study emphasizes realistic sampling scenarios, effective communication strategies, and techniques for de‑escalation and emotional regulation. Developed in collaboration with experts from the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Aerosol Technology Committee, the project addresses a gap in existing instructional materials by preparing students to engage workers with confidence, authenticity, and professionalism before entering the workforce.
Game-Based Quizzes for Applied Stats with Kahoot.
Dulanjalee Devage Dona
Game‑based practice offers a promising way to increase engagement in introductory statistics. This project develops a homework platform using Flippity to supplement traditional worksheets with interactive activities such as flashcards, matching tasks, and quizzes focused on core statistical concepts including data collection, distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. Designed with Generation Alpha in mind, the project emphasizes instant feedback, experimentation, and a sense of progress to support motivation and conceptual understanding. Assessment compares traditional and game‑based homework using quizzes, student surveys, and cognitive load measures to examine differences in learning, engagement, and perceived effort.
Macro, Simplified: Gamified Data Hunts and Instant Feedback
Eylem Ersal
Adapting economics instruction for Generation Alpha requires attention to how students process information and engage with content. This project redesigns a Principles of Macroeconomics course to emphasize low‑stakes, interactive learning activities aligned with contemporary information‑processing styles. Using a literacy‑targeted approach, the course pares down content to reduce cognitive overload and make room for collaborative, game‑based in‑class activities that provide instant feedback. Activities such as data‑collection “hunts” and AI cross‑checking tasks engage students in applied economic reasoning while fostering critical evaluation of data sources and AI‑generated information. Assessment strategies—including pre/post quizzes, activity artifacts, exam comparisons, and engagement observations—are used to examine impacts on learning, retention, and student engagement in a fast‑paced, tech‑mediated learning environment.
Teaching Python with GenAI: Personalized, Responsible Support
Hairi Fnu
Introducing students to programming in an AI‑rich environment requires balancing personalization with critical thinking. This project integrates generative AI tools into an Introduction to Python programming course to support Generation Alpha students’ learning preferences through AI‑powered coding assistants and adaptive practice activities. Students receive immediate, personalized feedback while being guided to critically evaluate and revise AI‑generated code, rather than relying on it unreflectively. Dedicated instructional sessions address effective and ethical AI use, and assessment through student surveys and reflections examines engagement, problem‑solving confidence, and perceptions of AI’s role in learning Python, offering insight into responsible GenAI integration in introductory computing courses.
Small Questions, Shared Inquiry: A Supportive Community of Practice for SoTL
Jess Bonjour, Heather Pelzel, Nadine Kriska
This poster shares a new Community of Practice designed to bring faculty and instructional staff together around the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The focus is on creating a friendly, low pressure space where people can explore teaching ideas, develop small SoTL projects, and support one another along the way. The poster gives an overview of how the group connects from summer into the academic year and how simple structures help turn everyday teaching questions into meaningful inquiry. Overall, viewers will see how a small, supportive community can spark new ideas, encourage reflective teaching, and help participants feel more comfortable sharing their work—offering a model that others can easily adapt on their own campuses.
The Unessay in Human Evolution: Creative Paths to Understanding
Jess Walz
Creative assessment formats can deepen engagement with complex scientific content, particularly for Generation Alpha students. This project implements a scaffolded “unessay” final project in a Human Evolution course, replacing a traditional written exam with interdisciplinary, student‑designed work. Students connect biological anthropology concepts to artistic, cultural, or applied formats such as visual art, playlists, games, marketing campaigns, podcasts, or hands‑on experimentation. The project blends scientific understanding with creative critical thinking, allowing students from diverse majors to leverage their strengths while deepening conceptual learning. Assessment includes student reflection, peer feedback in a museum‑style showcase, and instructor evaluation aligned with course learning objectives, highlighting the value of creative assessment in non‑lab science education.
Reframing Information Literacy for Gen Alpha
Katie McBride Moench
Evaluating the credibility of information has become increasingly complex for Generation Alpha students navigating constant access to online and AI‑generated content. This project focuses on identifying contemporary information literacy needs among Gen Alpha learners and developing instructional supports for pre‑service librarians who work with them. Following a review of existing research on Generation Alpha and information literacy, the project designs and implements curriculum within a Library Media program to address credibility assessment across both academic and everyday contexts. Feedback from pre‑service librarians and K–12 educators will guide refinement, with the long‑term goal of creating transferable information‑literacy supports relevant to future librarians and first‑year university instruction.
Making Chemistry Visible: Teaching Image Accessibility
Kim Naber
Digital accessibility offers a powerful entry point for engaging Generation Alpha students in chemistry learning. This project integrates accessibility‑centered activities that ask students to evaluate and create image captions for chemically relevant visuals, including graphs, molecular structures, and particulate‑level representations. Students refine captions to accurately communicate chemical meaning for screen‑reader access and then recreate images based solely on descriptions. Assessment includes pre‑ and post‑surveys on perceptions of accessibility and comparisons of quiz performance on image interpretation, examining gains in molecular‑level understanding and awareness of inclusive scientific communication.
The Crime Media Lab: Analyzing Crime Narratives Across Platforms
Krista McQueeney
Crime in the Digital Age reshapes how students understand deviance, justice, and social control. This project redesigns an introductory criminology course around the Crime Media Lab, a collaborative digital research archive where students collect and analyze crime‑related content from social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, and X. Through weekly contributions and analysis, students examine how crime is represented, sensationalized, and debated online while applying criminological theory to real‑world digital contexts. The poster outlines the structure of the archive, student‑generated research artifacts, and assessment strategies that emphasize applied analysis, pattern recognition, and critical engagement with contemporary crime narratives.
Grading for Growth: Pass/Fail to Elevate Design Process
Matthew Imhoff
Product‑focused thinking can limit learning in design‑based courses, particularly for Generation Alpha students who tend to practice privately and share work only when complete. This project examines the use of pass/fail grading in an advanced stage design and technology course as a way to shift attention from grades to process, experimentation, and collaborative feedback. By replacing letter grades with milestone‑based feedback that emphasizes skill development and progress, the course aims to encourage risk‑taking, transparency, and iterative design practices. Instructor observations and comparisons with graded design courses will be used to explore how pass/fail assessment influences student engagement with process and the quality of final design work.
Scientific Literacy in Action: Four Topical Investigations
Nadine Kriska/Irene Broughan
Scientific literacy is a core goal of non‑majors biology courses, yet Generation Alpha students often struggle to evaluate the credibility of biology‑related information encountered online. This project introduces a series of four scaffolded assignments in an introductory biology course that ask students to analyze real‑world topics connected to course units such as genetics, human health, and ecology. Students investigate primary and secondary sources—including peer‑reviewed research, popular media, and social media—and use structured prompts to assess evidence, bias, and credibility. Reflection activities track changes in student confidence, perceived relevance, and reasoning, examining how repeated practice strengthens scientific literacy and informed decision‑making beyond the classroom.
Rethinking Plant Taxonomy with Digital Identification Tools
Nic Tipperty
Rapid advances in digital tools are reshaping how students learn plant identification and taxonomy. This project rethinks a Plant Taxonomy course by integrating software‑based resources—including online species databases, geospatial distribution data, and AI‑enabled identification tools—in place of an emphasis on memorization and exclusive reliance on traditional dichotomous keys. Designed to align with Generation Alpha’s technological fluency and career‑oriented expectations, the course focuses on applied practice, data integration, and real‑world relevance in plant identification. Student surveys administered throughout the semester, along with instructor reflection, are used to examine changes in students’ confidence, engagement, and perceptions of the usefulness of taxonomy skills for future professional contexts.
AI-Powered Peer Collaboration in PETE
Nikki Hollet
Preparing future educators to teach Generation Alpha requires rethinking how collaboration, feedback, and digital tools are modeled in teacher preparation. This project integrates AI‑supported peer collaboration into the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) curriculum, engaging students in curating, co‑creating, and reflecting on multimedia resources such as videos, podcasts, and interactive guides. Guided prompts and adaptive AI feedback support student agency, digital literacy, and personalized learning while modeling instructional strategies applicable to both physical and digital classrooms. Assessment includes surveys of student engagement and confidence, rubric‑based evaluation of digital artifacts, observation of instructional practices in micro‑teaching labs, and qualitative analysis of reflective work to examine the project’s impact on learning and professional preparation.
Looping In Success: Peer-Built SIE Study Hub
Pengyu Qian
Professional certification courses demand both mastery of technical content and effective study strategies. This project introduces a collaborative digital learning platform using Microsoft Loop in a Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) course, enabling students to share study tips, practice questions, and curated online resources such as videos and blogs. Organized around exam chapters and test‑taking strategies, the platform supports personalized, peer‑driven preparation while leveraging tools students already use outside the classroom. Student surveys and exam pass rates are used to assess the project’s impact, examining how collaborative resource‑building influences engagement, confidence, and success on the FINRA SIE exam.
From Scroll to Studio: Teaching Voice with Social Media
Rachel Wood
Social media has become a primary source of musical instruction, inspiration, and misinformation for many Generation Alpha voice students. This project examines how applied voice instruction can intentionally leverage students’ existing engagement with singer‑ and pedagogy‑focused online content to strengthen critical evaluation skills and personalize learning. Students analyze selected social media videos using disciplinary vocabulary and pedagogical criteria, then share and discuss their evaluations with peers. Pre‑ and post‑project surveys assess changes in students’ attitudes toward online voice content and their habits as consumers of digital instruction, highlighting how guided analysis can transform passive scrolling into informed, reflective musicianship.
Reconstructing the Past: Paleontology as a Bridge from STEM to STEAM
Rex Hanger
Paleontology uniquely bridges STEM and STEAM, requiring scientific evidence to be interpreted through creative reconstruction. This project develops a Course‑Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in which students generate artistic reconstructions—both physical and digital—of Silurian reef fauna using museum research collections. Through hands‑on access to fossil specimens and interdisciplinary inquiry, students integrate geology, biology, climate history, and artistic practice to interpret fragmentary data from deep time. Student reflections and final reconstructions will inform the expansion of this STEAM‑based CURE model into additional paleontology and general education courses designed to engage Generation Alpha learners through experiential, creative science learning.
Teaching Sentiment with AI: From Tweets to Tactics
Soheil Kafiliveyjuyeh
Understanding how emotion is conveyed—and misread—by AI is increasingly central to communication education. This project integrates a sentiment‑analysis tool (SentiStrength) into scaffolded modules in undergraduate communication courses, allowing students to compare AI interpretations of emotion in tweets, news coverage, and campaigns with their own human judgments. Through short, hands‑on activities, students analyze mismatches caused by sarcasm, culture, or context and translate insights into journalism and public relations tasks. Pre‑ and post‑assessments, reflection prompts, and rubric‑based evaluations examine growth in AI literacy, ethical reasoning, and confidence using data‑driven tools, offering a practical framework for helping Generation Alpha critically engage with AI‑mediated communication.
Running Real Accounts: Experiential Social Media Learning
Tracy Khan
Experiential learning offers a powerful way to connect social media theory to real‑world practice for Generation Alpha students. This project embeds client‑based social media management into an undergraduate social media course, partnering students with local organizations to create content, analyze analytics, and grow audience engagement over the semester. By managing live accounts for nonprofits and small businesses, students gain hands‑on experience aligned with professional digital marketing roles while developing confidence and competence beyond passive coursework. Longitudinal surveys and reflective assignments collected throughout the semester examine changes in self‑efficacy, engagement, and skill development, contributing evidence on the impact of sustained experiential learning in social media education.
Advocacy Letters, Upgraded: AI-Assisted Policy Writing
Yeongmin Kim
Civic writing assignments offer an opportunity to combine policy analysis, advocacy, and emerging technologies. This project revises a “Letter to a Legislator” assignment in a Social Welfare Policy course to incorporate guided use of generative AI as a revision tool alongside instructor feedback. Students draft letters on policy issues affecting their communities, use AI tools to refine clarity and persuasiveness, and reflect on how technology‑assisted revision shaped their thinking. Designed to meet Generation Alpha’s expectations for immediate and personalized feedback, the project examines how structured AI integration supports skill development, responsible technology use, and effective policy communication through surveys and comparative analysis of draft and final student work.