AI in the Hands of Our Faculty
I use AI in my classroom the way professors once used chalk on a blackboard — boldly, visibly, and always in service of clarity. I work with doctoral students on how to leverage AI tools to map literatures, build conceptual frameworks, and ground their research designs in the best available evidence. With AI, dissertation students sketch research questions, erase confusion, and draw methodological diagrams they can finally see. Tools like Research Rabbit and Connected Papers highlight theoretical connections just as chalked arrows on a board, while Elicit and SCITE help students sharpen arguments, outline chapters, and keep momentum visible. In short, I use AI to help doctoral students think in drafts, revise without fear, and watch their ideas take shape — just like chalk always did, only without all that dust.
One of the most significant ways I am using AI in my teaching is as a catalyst for redesigning assessment. My scholarship and classroom practice focus on how educators can preserve cognitive engagement in an era when AI can generate increasingly sophisticated products. Rather than focusing solely on final products, I explore process-based approaches that make student thinking, decision-making, reflection, and reasoning visible throughout the learning experience. I recently presented on this topic at the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) conference and am piloting these approaches in my graduate instructional design course. I believe AI is most powerful in education when it augments human thinking rather than simply accelerating task completion.
More Faculty Voices
As a counselor educator at Keiser University, I view AI as a learning partner rather than a shortcut. I incorporate AI into classroom discussions, case studies, and skill-development activities to help students practice clinical reasoning, explore different counseling approaches, and strengthen their professional judgment. What has impressed me most is how AI can increase student engagement and curiosity when paired with appropriate guidance. Students are learning not only how to use emerging technology but also how to think critically about the information it provides — an essential skill for future mental health professionals.
I intentionally use AI as a dynamic teaching tool to help future clinicians confront the evolving landscape of digital ethics and legal implications head-on. I bring AI directly into the classroom by generating mock clinical documentation and session transcripts, then task my graduate students with rigorously auditing these outputs — dissecting them for algorithmic bias, HIPAA compliance, informed consent, and data privacy risks. The impact has been profound: students shift from being passive consumers or fearful avoiders of technology into active, ethical evaluators. They learn firsthand that while technology can mitigate administrative fatigue, the core competencies of cultural humility, empathy, and ethical decision-making must always remain protected in the hands of the human clinician.
One of the ways I use AI in my teaching is to help create diverse and realistic clinical scenarios for students to analyze and discuss. These scenarios allow students to apply course concepts to a variety of client situations and consider different clinical perspectives. Students have responded positively to the variety and complexity of the cases, and I have found that they often lead to richer discussions, deeper critical thinking, and greater confidence in applying counseling skills. AI has been a helpful tool for expanding learning opportunities and keeping classroom activities engaging and relevant.
At Keiser University, I integrate artificial intelligence throughout my courses to enhance learning, critical thinking, research, and career readiness. AI tools help students analyze complex datasets, explore real-world business and technology challenges, improve their writing and research skills, and gain hands-on experience with emerging technologies that are transforming today’s workforce. I have observed increased student engagement, improved problem-solving abilities, and greater confidence in applying AI responsibly across disciplines such as business, financial technology, data science, cybersecurity, and healthcare. Most importantly, AI allows students to focus on higher-order thinking, innovation, and decision-making while preparing them for the rapidly evolving AI-driven economy.
