Course Hero Announces Spring Session for Popular AI Academy As Hundreds of Faculty Complete Fall Course

News provided by

Nov 21, 2023, 09:00 ET

92% of faculty participating in AI Academy report feeling prepared to use AI in their classrooms.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Course Hero, the popular online learning platform that helps students study and supports more than 190,000 educators to cultivate teaching strategies for more engaging classrooms, today announced it will offer a spring cohort for its AI Academy, a four-week professional development course designed to help educators navigate teaching in the age of AI.

"The conversation has quickly evolved from questioning if AI is good or bad to how generative AI can support student learning and understanding. There's a multitude of responses to that complex question, which is why we're helping educators thoughtfully explore how AI may -- or may not -- complement their own pedagogy," said Sean Michael Morris, VP of Academics at Course Hero. "In speaking with educators before and after the course, I'm most struck by how many educators see an opportunity to use AI to support their own teaching practice and support today's students."

Over 320 faculty, instructional designers, and directors of centers for teaching and learning participated in the first four-week course in October, which addressed practical AI skills for the classroom, assessment design, academic integrity, and student AI literacy. Participants were surveyed before and after the course. Prior to AI Academy, one-quarter of participants said they didn't feel prepared at all to use AI in their teaching. By the end of the course, 92% of educators reported feeling somewhat or fully prepared. At the course's outset, just a third of participants rated their understanding of AI and its use in education as intermediate to advanced. After the four-week program, 73% described their understanding as intermediate or advanced. Course Hero also observed a 22% increase in the number of participants that had or planned to write class policies about AI use.

Following the course, 67% of participants said they believe AI to be promising for enhancing learning experience and necessary to prepare students for their careers. When asked about the top applications of AI in the classroom, educators prioritized:

Asking students to use generative AI in an assignment
Develop lessons plans or first drafts of lessons plans
Personalize classroom assignments to the interest of an individual student

The course was taught by four instructors: Stephanie Speicher, an associate professor and the Digital Fluency Faculty in Residence at Weber State University; Anne Arendt-Bunds, associate dean for the College of Engineering and Technology at Utah Valley University; Laura Summers, formerly of University of Colorado Denver's Professional Learning, Learning Design & Technology program; and Sean Michael Morris of Course Hero. Guest speakers included college students, faculty, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian.

The second AI Academy course will begin on March 4, 2024. Those who complete the program and final assessment are awarded 10 continuing education units (CEUs) and a Certification in Teaching with AI. To learn more about AI Academy, visit education.coursehero.com/ai-academy. Visit here to register for the spring 2024 cohort.

About Course Hero
Course Hero is on a mission to help students graduate confident and prepared. The online learning platform now offers more than 100 million course-specific study resources created by and for students and educators, as well as 24/7 tutor help. More than 190,000 faculty across the U.S. and Canada use Course Hero to share their resources with the community, collaborate with other faculty, and hone new strategies for instruction. Every day, students, educators and tutors on Course Hero help more than 30 million students make every study hour count.

SOURCE Course Hero