Eberly Center launches 3-year Generative AI Initiative

In October 2023, the Eberly Center launched the Generative Artificial Intelligence Teaching as Research (GAITAR) Initiative to measure the impacts of the generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools on students’ learning and educational experiences at Carnegie Mellon University. This three-year initiative is funded by the Provost, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Innovation, and Eberly Center.

The emergence and evolution of GAI tools represents a major disruption to norms in higher education. The Eberly Center’s position on GAI is that it can be viewed as both a challenge and opportunity for teaching and learning. However, the impacts of GAI on teaching, learning, and the student experience are unknown. How instructors adapt to or implement GAI in their educational ecosystem may increase, decrease, or not change student learning or equity in outcomes.

Consequently, we designed the GAITAR Initiative to help CMU instructors’ adapt, innovate, research, and disseminate. These four pillars leverage Eberly Center expertise in teaching as research (TAR), evidence-based pedagogy, technology-enhanced learning, and inclusive teaching.

GAITAR Initiative programs and services aim to synergistically: 

1. Create and sustain communities of practice among CMU educators to foster adaptive and innovative teaching strategies, evidenced-based teaching, and applied education research.
2. Cultivate and support the design and implementation of effective teaching adaptations and/or innovations across disciplines and educational contexts at CMU.
3. Rigorously measure the impacts of educational uses of GAI tools on student learning, equity in student outcomes, and the student experience at CMU.
4. Center student voices and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as instructors adapt to and/or innovate with GAI in teaching and learning.
5. Disseminate and foster adoption of transferable, evidence-based, educational applications of GAI tools, at both CMU and beyond.

To achieve these objectives, the Eberly Center is launching seven new complementary programs:

• GAITAR Institutes
  generate potential GAI innovations and TAR projects across many teaching contexts and learning objectives
• GAITAR Fellowships
  incentivize and lower barriers to instructor-led GAI teaching innovation and TAR across many teaching contexts and many learning objectives
• GAITAR@Scale
  systematically collects generalizable data at scale (i.e., across many instructors, courses, and teaching contexts) for a few high-priority research questions
• Eberly Center Student Partners (ESPs) Co-Creator Program
  centers DEIB and student voices within instructors’ adaptations to and innovations with GAI while providing high-impact educational experiences for student co-creators
• GAI Special Interest Groups (SIGs) 
  build communities of practice regarding challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned across many teaching contexts and learning objectives
• GAI Working Groups 
  create and disseminate guidance, resources, and pilot projects on how best to adapt to GAI within specific educational contexts and/or learning objectives 
• GAITAR Writing Retreats
  facilitate dissemination of teaching innovations and TAR scholarship via peer-reviewed papers and conferences while providing mentorship for underrepresented scholars in educational research