Upcoming Workshops & Events
Addressing Generative AI in Academic Writing Instruction
Wondering how students on our campus view the role of generative AI in academic writing contexts? Come learn what YSU students said in a recent survey about the appropriate role of GenAI tools and how students believe the tools can be used ethically for graded writing assignments. Then, learn strategies for creating AI-resistant writing assignments and brainstorm methods for integrating AI into writing instruction in your classes. Attendees are encouraged to bring assignment prompts and rubrics to the workshop so they can receive feedback on how to revise them to discourage unethical AI use.
Join Dr. Diana Awad Scrocco, professor of English and world languages, as she shares practical approaches for addressing AI in writing instruction while maintaining meaningful opportunities for students to develop their own writing skills.
Date: Monday, November 2 Time: 2:00 – 3:00 Location: Jones Hall 3049
How Are Your Students Thinking? Using a New Lens to Examine Your Assignments
We often think about what we want students to learn, but how much thinking are we actually asking them to do?
In this interactive workshop, we'll explore a practical framework for examining how deeply students are thinking when they complete a learning task. You'll explore four levels of thinking, practice analyzing examples, and use Depth of Knowledge to take a closer look at an assignment, activity, or assessment from your own course and consider whether it matches what you want students to learn.
Bring an upcoming topic that you’d like to work on. Leave with a plan you can use.
Date: Monday, November 9 Time: 11:00 – 11:50 Location: Jones Hall 3049
Date: Tuesday, November 10 Time: 2:00 – 2:50 Location: Jones Hall 3049
Same workshop offered at both times.
Creating Clear Prompts and Rubrics for Writing Assignments
Curious about how to create clear prompts and rubrics for writing assignments to provide students with scaffolding and discourage unethical AI usage? Bring an idea for a writing assignment or draft of a prompt for your Spring 2027 courses and get feedback on how well your assignment conveys learning objectives, breaks down complex tasks, and communicates grading standards.
Dr. Diana Awad Scrocco, professor of English and world languages, will lead attendees in examining examples of assignment prompts created by faculty and generated by AI, considering the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches, and applying what they learn to their own writing assignments.
Date: Monday, November 16 Time: 2:00 – 3:00 Location: Jones Hall 3049
Mapping Your AI Pedagogy
Do you feel caught between pressure to adopt AI tools, and uncertainty about where to begin (or whether to engage at all)? Attend this hands-on workshop and you will leave with a concrete, discipline-specific plan for integrating AI into a course you are currently teaching.
You will map your own comfort level with AI to identify personal boundaries, non-negotiables, and low-risk entry points for adoption. During this workshop, you will apply AI tools such as Copilot and NotebookLM to help draft course materials and learning outcomes. You'll also try out Blackboard’s built-in AI features to design assessments, rubrics, and more.
The workshop will be led by Dr. Dawna Cerney, professor of geography; Dr. Rachel Faeber-Ovaska, instructional designer with YSU Online; and Mr. Joe Alberti, senior instructional designer for course development with YSU Online.
Please bring a laptop and arrive with one course and one assignment or activity in mind. Every participant will leave with a completed worksheet outlining a specific, implementable AI integration plan for their own classroom.
Date: Monday, November 19 Time: 2:00 – 3:30 Location: Jones Hall 3049