2026 ACE Teaching Table Talk: AI as a Teaching Facilitator

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly viewed as a valuable resource for inclusive teaching, yet little is known about how faculty negotiate its complex pedagogical boundaries. This qualitative study explores how education faculty navigate the competing socio-digital affordances of GenAI when designing inclusive pedagogies. Grounded in Universal Design for Learning and affordance theory, we analyzed one-on-one semi-structured interviews with five faculty members. Findings reveal that faculty members do not view GenAI as inherently inclusive. They may leverage GenAI as a helpful learning or teaching assistant to reduce linguistic barriers but remain wary of its potential to standardize student voice and reproduce Eurocentric biases. This study urges faculty to move beyond an instrumental understanding of GenAI in inclusive teaching toward cultivating critical AI literacies. It also calls on institutions to provide professional development that supports faculty in developing critical and inclusive teaching with GenAI across disciplines.

 

Presenters: 

- Dr. Hala Sun, Associate Director of Assessment and Evaluation at Michigan State University’s Center for Educational Research & Analytics (CERA)

- Yilun Jiang, 4th year PhD Student in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education