9 Jul 2026
What Should Students Learn if AI Can Do the Work?
We're back! After an extended hiatus, Teaching in the CTEI has returned with a 3-part episode series on AI in higher education. We're so happy to be back and have lots to discuss in the coming months!
This first episode welcomes Dr. Elle Corvette, Dr. Felicitas Hartung, and Professor Chris Friend to the conversation, and attempts to tackle the big questions about AI's role in teaching & learning. For example, "What are we pretending still matters educationally because we're attached to tradition?" and "What do you think higher education could realistically look like in 10 years if AI continues advancing rapidly?". Topics include the value of critical reasoning, metacognition, grading and its alternatives, career readiness, and the importance of human relationships and community building.
We are so grateful to our guests for their participation and thoughtful insights!
Elle Corvette, Ph.D., is Director of Faculty Development and Immersive Learning at William Peace University located in Raleigh, NC. She holds dual doctorates in Interdisciplinary Art Practice/Research & Critical Studies (Goldsmiths, London) and Educational Psychology (Tennessee, Knoxville). Her research centers on high-impact, peer-to-peer pedagogy and experiential learning, emphasizing reflective mindfulness and student-centered instruction. She has spent her entire career trying to help make higher education worthy of the students showing up for it. She is not done yet.
Felicitas Hartung, Ph.D., is Associate Director of Digital Scholarship in the Center for Educational Effectiveness at UC Davis. Her work focuses on supporting innovative and inclusive teaching practices, faculty development, digital pedagogy, and the thoughtful integration of generative AI in higher education. Drawing on experience in teaching and educational development across Germany and the United States, she brings a perspective that connects instructional practice with broader questions about learning, assessment, and institutional change. Her current scholarship explores how higher education can respond to AI-driven transformation while preserving meaningful forms of intellectual, emotional, and relational engagement in learning. Trained as both a historian and educator, she is particularly interested in the future of expertise, assessment, and human-centered teaching in AI-rich learning environments.
Chris Friend is Assistant Professor of English in New Media and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Kean University in Union, NJ. His research examines pedagogy and digital composition practices through the lenses of identity and student agency.
References and recommended reading:
Bertram Gallant, T., & Rettinger, D. A. (2025). The opposite of cheating: Teaching for integrity in the age of AI. University of Oklahoma Press.
Blum, Susan D. (Ed.). (2020). Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead). West Virginia University Press.
Blum, Susan D. (2025) Ungrading Five Years On: A Movement, A Backlash, a Rebranding, a Story. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND-4.0. (https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A21bde7f4-8f30-3efb-a7b2-5c20a39ce05f)
Bowen, J. A., & Watson, C. E. (2025). Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. 2nd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Clark, D., & Talbert, R. (2023). Grading for growth: A guide to alternative grading practices that promote authentic learning and student engagement in higher education. Routledge.
Ferrandino, Joseph. (2016). Student Achievement in Undergraduate Statistics: The Value of Encouraging Failure. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 16. 1-18. 10.14434/josotl.v16i6.20261.
Hao, K. (2025). Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. Penguin Press.
Mintz, S. (2025, June 27). A blueprint for tomorrow: Transforming your university into a forward-facing institution. Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed.
