{"id":1810,"date":"2025-03-09T12:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T12:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=1810"},"modified":"2025-03-11T12:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T12:01:08","slug":"a-snapshot-on-the-future-of-learning-wrapping-up-the-clt-symposium-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=1810","title":{"rendered":"A Snapshot on The Future of Learning<\/em>: Wrapping Up the CLT Symposium 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The CLT Symposium brought AUC faculty together to share their innovative pedagogical experiences and ideas, and offered opportunities to learn from international speakers on themes related to imagination in education, academic integrity in the age of AI and reimagining emerging technologies. Sub-themes this year included human-centered teaching in the age of AI, academic integrity in the post-plagiarism era, and experiential learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year the hybrid symposium included a variety of workshops, roundtables and virtual\/hybrid keynotes and ran on February 16- 19 and 25, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What follows is a snapshot of the various sessions. More detailed New Chalk Talks highlighting particular sessions will follow over the coming few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching Challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In 2016, CLT surveyed AUC faculty to explore the challenges they encountered in their day-to-day classroom teaching. The survey used was adapted from one conducted by Faculty Focus<\/a> in which they surveyed instructors across the world (Bart, 2016). The questions on the survey were modified to fit the AUC context, and help CLT better tailor its services to the various needs of AUC faculty. CLT ran the survey again in 2024 and identified the top three challenges indicated by faculty who responded to the survey (n=158). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this year’s symposium, CLT shared the top three challenges from the latest survey, which were  \u201cunprepared students\u201d, \u201cplagiarism and academic integrity\u201d and \u201cactive learning & student engagement\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants were divided into groups  to examine those challenges in depth, identify stakeholders, explore possible causes and come up with ideas to tackle the challenges. By the end of the session, each group presented one of the ideas they discussed to all participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two tables focused on the issue of unprepared students, identifying causes such as faculty leniency, lack of student accountability, limited intrinsic motivation, and the perception of \u201ceducation as a product rather than a process\u201d. To address this, participants suggested implementing a structured student journey framework to help learners visualize their progress and development. Moreover, another table working on this topic suggested understanding more about how GenZ learns, and what approaches faculty could use to motivate this generation. Another table examined the challenge of active learning, highlighting obstacles like outdated or irrelevant materials and unfriendly textbooks. Proposed solutions included integrating real-life applications, scaffolding learning, adopting student-centered instructional designs, and leveraging technology where appropriate. Additionally, the discussion on plagiarism and academic integrity emphasized academic pressure to perform and the impact of assignment design as key contributors. Participants recommended redesigning assignments to minimize artificial intelligence (AI) misuse, requiring students to orally defend their work, promoting proper AI citation and literacy, educating stakeholders on AI\u2019s influence on academic integrity, emphasizing higher-order thinking skills in assessments, and providing hands-on faculty workshops to support assessment redesign and AI integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI in Practice Roundtables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The AI in Practice roundtables included facilitated discussions, where a group of 2-3 faculty members from similar disciplines were invited to share their general approach to AI in their courses, what they have learned and what their challenges are. Participants were able to move between tables, discuss, share and ask questions to the speakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-one faculty members from 16 departments across all five academic schools (ALA, BUS, HUSS, SSE, GAPP) contributed, sharing practices ranging from \u201ctrying to reduce the usage of AI in parts where it should not [be used]\u201d, \u201chelp[ing] students develop a real purpose in the assignments they do so they are intrinsically motivated\u201d, \u201cusing AI responsibly\u201d and \u201ctotal AI integration\u201d. Contributors shared the experiments and challenges they have experienced over the past few years and how their thinking has evolved over time. Faculty presenters collaborated on a resource listing the particular AI tools they have been using: https:\/\/bit.ly\/AIroundtables<\/a> and CLT will publish a New Chalk Talk soon to share a summary of their teaching practices. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Next Horizon: Innovating Teaching for the Next Generation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This session invited faculty members to reflect on and assess their current teaching approaches following the best practices and evidence-based approaches advocated by the Teaching Effectiveness Framework (TEF)<\/a> developed by Colorado State University\u2019s Institute for Learning and Teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

34 faculty members took part in this interactive session to explore ideas for implementation in the classroom based on the TEF. For each of the two rounds of the activity, participants worked in groups around one of four domains of their choice, and each faculty participant rated their teaching practices according to the domain-specific rubric outlined by the TEF on Instructional Strategies<\/a>, Feedback for Learning<\/a>, Student Motivation<\/a>, or Inclusive Pedagogy<\/a> & Classroom Climate<\/a>. Faculty noted their areas of strength, aspects where they would like to improve, their goals, and the types of resources and support they would need to achieve these goals. During the discussion, participants shared examples from their own teaching experience and gave each other feedback and suggestions to tackle challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keynote Session: The Future of Learning Must Invite Us to Imagine: Freedom Dreaming for Liberatory Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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This keynote was presented by invited speaker Mia Zamora, a professor of English and director of the Masters of Arts in Writing Studies Program at Kean University in NJ, USA. The session was run in hybrid-mode and included AUC and non-AUC participants. Zamora\u2019s session focused on asking: What is the significance of imagination in our work as educators? In a world shaped more and more by algorithmic logic, what does it mean to dream? What role might the imagination play in how we collectively address our shared future? This interactive workshop opened up a dynamic conversation about liberatory education design. How can we cultivate the growth of the imagination for ourselves and for our students? We explored everyday practices and imagined strategies that can lead us to become self-actualized shapers of a more just and sustainable world. The slides are available here: https:\/\/bit.ly\/MiaAUC<\/a> and the recording is embedded below<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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