Education Commons^™

Designing Custom Chatbots For Classroom Use: Practical Examples, Benefits, And Current Limitations, Akio Abe, Farrukh Nazir

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

Recent advances in generative AI have made it increasingly possible for individual educators to design and implement their own custom chatbots without advanced programming skills (Abe & Kaneshige, 2025). This workshop introduces practical examples of custom chatbots developed for educational purposes and discusses both their affordances and limitations for classroom use.

We would like to share a chatbot creation experience, which we spent one hour building, with a 30-minute presentation. For each chatbot, we will explain its intended purpose, target users, basic specifications, and expected classroom applications. We will also describe the development process, including how the presenters designed the …

Resisting Ai With Paper: Possibilities, Concerns And Protest, Laura Evans

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

While there are a number of commercial benefits involved in incorporating AI usage and training into college composition classrooms, to many the perils and problems involved in student AI use outweigh these possibilities. A growing number of composition instructors have chosen to return to requiring assignments to be handwritten on paper as an increasingly viable, and even necessary, strategy to combat the growing use of ChatGPT and other AI text generation software as an essay-writing tool. This strategy has a number of potential benefits – the ability to regulate AI usage, to create better memory retention, and decrease student screen-time …

Imsa Engage360, Dr. Kristi Kelly,Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

This session will introduce IMSA Engage360, an emerging whole-student framework that reimagines the campus experience through Care, Connection, and Curiosity. Grounded in student engagement theory, Engage360 connects academic, residential, and co-curricular experiences to student learning, relationships, growth, and contribution. Participants will explore how the framework supports intentional design and assessment of experiences that foster meaningful connection, curiosity, care, and students’ capacity to contribute to the human condition.

Update On New Course: Advanced Topics In Data Analysis, Paul Rummelhoff, Academics

Professional Learning Day

No abstract provided.

Titans On The Move: Navigating Intersession Trips With Confidence, Sam Rivera Miller, Human Resources, Dr. Luke Berryman, Academics

Professional Learning Day

See student travel posters and wish you were going, but anxious about leading a trip? Want to get to know more students, but don't work in a student-facing role? Come and get inspiration from our real-life success story! Group travel at IMSA is simpler, safer, and more fully-supported than ever before. Join Dr. Luke Berryman (Director of Experiential Learning) and Samantha Rivera Miller (HR Associate & lead chaperone for the 2025-26 trip to the UK) to explore travel vendor options and trip proposals. Step up with confidence and turn student travel into a rewarding, exciting reality!

Chicago Engagement: Imsa Joins The Legacy Of The Bud Billiken, Simone Moore, Admissions

Professional Learning Day

Explore Chicago's iconic annual Bud Billiken Parade, learn how to get involved, and connect with the local community!

Srelo: Imsa’S Efforts To Expand Student Access To Research, Dr. Evan Glazer, Imsa President, Dr. Anita White, Outreach

Professional Learning Day

This session will provide an overview of Summer Residential Experiential Learning Opportunities (SRELO), including its history, recent expansion, and engagement of IMSA Scholars through a statewide network of partners. IMSA colleagues can also propose programs. With grant support, SRELO is free for participants at more than 10 locations statewide. Also during this session, we will share goals for the year and invite input on potential partners to support our growing impact.

Modeling With Clay-Anatomy, Lassandra Walker, Academics

Professional Learning Day

The human body is a complex intricate network of systems that work together. How the body is molded consists of not only networks but intricate levels of organizations that shape how we think about the human body and its structures and functions. Modeling with clay requires art skills and creativity to move away from textbooks. Students will learn about sculpting tools and anatomical structures. Also, students will learn how to create a 2D or 3D human body from clay, and practice interpreting human form from sculpture.

From “I’M Not A Coder” To “I Built A Website”: Teaching Business Concepts Through Ai Vibe Coding, Jean Jeon

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

This presentation shares my experience developing an AI vibe coding project for business students with little or no coding experience. Students first replicated a website, then created their own improved version and learned from peer feedback. Through trial and error, they revised their prompts and applied course concepts related to target audiences, user experience, branding, and business models. What began as an AI tool assignment became a learning-by-doing experience that encouraged students to think like marketers. I will share the project structure, student learning process, and lessons I learned while learning alongside my students.

Ai For Everyone: Designing An Introductory Ai Course Across Disciplines, Jesse Fitts, Waleed Faris

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

As artificial intelligence reshapes virtually every field, universities face a growing imperative to ensure AI literacy is not reserved for computer science majors alone. This panel presents the collaborative design of an introductory AI course built for undergraduate general education — one that serves students across disciplines, regardless of technical background.

Two co-designers will share the story of building the course from complementary angles. The first presenter will address the technical foundation of the curriculum: how core AI concepts such as machine learning, data, and algorithms were translated into accessible, hands-on learning experiences for non-specialist students. The second presenter will …

Trust But Verify: Testing A Framework For Ai Interrogation In Nursing Education, Michael Chamberlain

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

Generative AI produces fluent, confident output that is sometimes fabricated. Nursing students increasingly submit work built on sources that do not exist, or that exist and do not support the claims drawn from them. This session reports two semesters of classroom observation testing whether prompt design can address that problem.   The hypothesis was that structuring student prompts to require the AI to validate its own sources would improve detection of hallucinated citations. It did not. Across two sections, students who used the structured format caught fabricated citations at the same rate as students given an open prompt. Structure did change …

Imsa Fund 101: Where Does It Come From? Where Does It Go?, Dana Camacho,, Cesar Patino, Janine Barajas,, Sharon Doering-Domanus,, Meg Junk, Scott Kreiter,, Tami Armstrong

Professional Learning Day

Whether you’ve been at IMSA for 1 year or 10+, you may have questions about the IMSA Fund, where resources come from, where they go, and how they are distributed. Join IMSA Fund staff to learn more about how the IMSA Fund supports IMSA, and provide feedback on how faculty, staff, and students might like to be involved. Share your ideas around fundraising, communication, recognition, and more.

Becoming Anything: Stem Cells And The Power Of Analogy, Sarah O’Leary-Driscoll, Dr. Jessica Amacher, Academics

Professional Learning Day

How does a single cell become a heart, a neuron, or skin? In this session, we will explore stem cells and cell differentiation through analogy-based modeling. No prior knowledge necessary! Participants will work through a hands-on analogy that makes gene expression familiar and concrete. Then we will discuss other examples, and consider what makes analogies effective and where they break down. Come to learn the fascinating science of how we each develop; leave with a powerful teaching strategy you can use in any discipline.

Everyone Play Nice: A Brief Intro To Game Theory, Dr. Zack Conley, Outreach

Professional Learning Day

What happens when your best choice depends on what everyone else does? Join us for an interactive session, where we will explore game theory through different activities and simulations. When is it better to be selfish and when is it better to work together?

Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (Cerp), Angie Shoener, Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

Learn about your role in the event of a cardiac emergency on campus and how to respond. The Cardiac Emergency Response plan will be explained to faculty and staff. Then you will participate in a practice drill. The session will finish with an evaluation and feedback from the practice drill.

Beyond Adoption: Shared Values And Guiding Questions For Ai-Aware Teaching, Sarah Cummings, Lyndsay Munro

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

We will discuss how shared questions can provide coherence without requiring uniform practice across disciplines, courses, or instructors. Examples from faculty across disciplines demonstrate how educators can begin with common values while reaching different, contextually appropriate decisions. By shifting attention from finding the single “right” approach to AI toward asking shared questions about teaching and learning, the framework offers a practical way forward amid varied practices, perspectives, and policies.

Ai Across The Curriculum: Early Insights From Unr Students And Faculty, Elisabeth Linn, Elena S. Azadbakht, Rosalind Bucy

AI in the Classroom: A Virtual Summit

In July 2025, the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) joined librarians, educators, and administrators across 15-20 institutions to participate in an Ithaka S+R AI cohort. Ithaka S+R has worked with academic libraries, teaching and learning centers, and college administrators across more than 60 institutions, leading cohorts focused on teaching and learning with AI, integrating AI literacy into the curriculum, and more. This third cohort focused on defining, implementing, and scaling AI literacy initiatives across higher education. Through interviews with faculty and students, cohorts investigate needs surrounding AI literacy specific to their campus. This presentation will describe the preliminary results of …

Gauging The Evolving Needs Of Residential Students, Amber Lange, Mission & Impact, Dr. Katie Berger, Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

What if IMSA faculty and staff could offer advice to higher education administrators about the evolving needs of residential students we have noticed while they are living here with us? Well this is your chance! Dr. Katie Berger and Amber Lange hope to lead this discussion at the annual conference for Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and want your input. Join us for a brief discussion about what evolving needs you have seen in recent years here at the Academy.

Ai Beyond The Screen: Exploring Physical Ai, Tami Armstrong, Public Affairs, Dr. Ashwin Mohan, Ai Center

Professional Learning Day

What happens when AI moves beyond the screen and interacts with the physical world? Last year, Dr. Ashwin Mohan worked with a group of IMSA sophomores to explore Physical AI and develop hands-on activities using simple, low-cost tools. In this interactive session, participants will experience their work firsthand and learn how AI can learn from feedback and adapt. No coding or technical background is required: Just curiosity about AI, student innovation, and hands-on learning.

My Travels, Experiences, And Teaching Possibilities, Dr. Lee Eysturlid, Academics

Professional Learning Day

No abstract provided.

What’S Happening At The Chicago Hub?, Frank Kadri, Outreach

Professional Learning Day

Are you curious about what’s going on at IMSA’s newest hub location? After just one year, IMSA is already making an impact in Chicago. Chat with Chicago Hub manager Frank Kadri about what’s happening, and more importantly, what’s to come, including building a navigation app/website for STEM activities, experiences, partners, and providers that pairs with school selection for elementary and high schools across the city.

Budget Basics, Brien Martin,Business Office

Professional Learning Day

An overview of budgeting in general, explaining what budgets are used for, how they may be built, suggestions for managing a budget (or multiple budgets), and an overview of the IMSA budget process, which is being revised and revamped as we head into FY2028

Building Culture: The Calaverita Engineering Challenge, David Hernandez

Professional Learning Day

In this session, we will explore the cultural significance of “Calaveritas” (sugar skull), an important artistic element of “Día de los Muertos” in Mexican culture. Visitors will investigate the engineering design and production process used to create decorative “Calaveritas”, exploring materials, structure, aesthetics, and manufacturing techniques. Through the design process, participants will create their own “Calaverita” while connecting culture, art, engineering, and technology to understand how traditional designs can inspire modern creative production.

Make It Matter: Designing Meaningful Professional Learning, Cassandra Armstrong, Lindsey Herlehy

Professional Learning Day

You know your content. You have an idea. Maybe you even have a slide deck. But how do you turn that expertise into a 60-minute professional learning experience that educators will actually find valuable? This session will guide participants through the process of designing, preparing, and facilitating a professional learning session-- particularly for Institute Day. We'll explore what makes professional learning engaging and useful, consider how to move beyond "sit and get," and use a simple planning framework to turn an idea into an actionable session. Participants will have time to work on their own Institute Day proposal and leave …

Interactive Review Of Imsa’S Emergency Operations Plan, Stefan Bjes,Campus Safety

Professional Learning Day

Emergency preparedness relies on collective confidence and clear communication across departments. This session serves as a "work in progress" collaboration to present IMSA’s refreshed Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and workshop the best strategies for communicating these protocols to the broader staff body. Participants will explore core components of the plan—spanning severe weather, facility emergencies, and campus safety threats—while actively testing how to make these procedures engaging, accessible, and actionable for everyone on campus.

Ai Agents, Dr. Phadmakar Patankar, Academics

Professional Learning Day

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Sign-Out: Reaching Across Imsa, Courtney Caruthers , Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

REACH: a sign-out system and MUCH more! This session explores why IMSA is implementing REACH, how it supports Residence Life operations, and where its impact intersects with Academics, Student Affairs, families, and other campus partners. Participants will see how REACH can connect people, processes, and information to strengthen student support, while exploring what we are learning through implementation and where opportunities for greater collaboration may exist.

Engaging In And Chaperoning Imsa Experiences, Brandon Ducoing, Emma Wilson Parker, Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

IMSA’s student experience extends beyond the classroom, and adult presence plays an important role in making those experiences meaningful. This session will explore how faculty and staff can engage with students through events, activities, traditions, and other experiences. We’ll discuss what it means to be an effective chaperone, how to support student independence while maintaining appropriate supervision, and ways faculty and staff can get involved in experiences like CLASH of the Halls.

"We Are Still Here”: Curating A High Quality Native American Children’S Book Collection For The Elementary Classroom, Lucia Benzor

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

Elementary social studies educators face many challenges in the classroom when teaching on the subject of Native Americans. In addition to outdated materials or a lack of resources that inaccurately depict Native Americans as well as stereotypes found in a variety of media, students are left with various misconceptions that they bring with them to the classroom. To begin to combat these hurdles, the author advocates for the use of high quality picture books written by Indigenous authors and shares a carefully curated list of texts and suggestions for classroom use. The list features both fiction and nonfiction that address …

Artifacts Inquiry For Social Studies And Science Classrooms, Tina Valenzuela, Jaime L. Coyne

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

Artifacts offer opportunities for students to move beyond reading about the past to investigating evidence from it. In this article, we describe a museum-based artifact inquiry activity developed with teacher candidates and offers practical ways to adapt the activity for K–12 interdisciplinary classrooms. Beginning with a single artifact, learners make careful observations, distinguish observation from inference, develop compelling and supporting questions, investigate additional sources, construct evidence-based claims, and consider perspectives and limitations of the available evidence. The activity aligns with the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework Inquiry Arc and connects with the Georgia Standards of Excellence in social …