Center for Teaching and Learning

Faculty Research and Writing Colloquium Fall 2024

The Colloquium is a semester-long, longitudinal faculty development experience intended for new and junior faculty members who are actively working on a research and writing project.

The purpose of the program is to provide a protected development time for writing, accompanied by mentoring, coaching, and peer review to help faculty members complete their research and writing projects.

Fall Cohort meets September-December, 2024
Meeting dates: Thursdays from 3:30-5:30pm in The Mercer Writer’s Hub (Ryals 205)

September 5, 12, 19; October 10, 17, 24; November 7, 14, 21

A Spring 2025 Colloquium will not be offered.

The Colloquium cohort is located on the Macon Campus, led by Dr. Deneen Senasi, Professor of English and Writing Director, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Apply for the Fall 2024 Cohort

---

Upcoming Faculty Development Session Topics Fall 2024

The Faculty Research and Writing Colloquium – Macon Campus

Faculty members are invited to apply now for the Fall 2023 Colloquium, which is a semester-long faculty development experience intended for faculty members who are actively working on a research and writing project during this academic year. New and junior faculty members are especially encouraged to apply. The Colloquium meets in person every other Thursday from 3:30-5:30 in Knight Hall on the Macon campus. Dr. Deneen Senasi, Professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, is the Colloquium’s leader. Meeting dates for the Fall 2023 Colloquium are as follows: September 7, 21; October 12, 19; November 2, 16, and 30. Stipends will be awarded for successful completion. A separate Spring 2024 Colloquium will also be offered, with applications accepted in November. Learn more and apply for the Fall 2023 Colloquium here: https://ctl.mercer.edu

AI Academy Zoom sessions

The AI Academy is a series of faculty development sessions on common uses of AI for teaching and learning offered this fall. Each session is offered twice and will be recorded.

Register for AI Academy Sessions

Registration is requested to allow distribution of the Zoom link before sessions and to get attendance estimates. All sessions will be recorded.

AI Literacy and Your Students (Using the AAC&U Guide)

Dr. Susan Codone will use the AAC&U AI Literacy rubric to provide simple steps to help your students acquire basic AI literacy, including principles of academic integrity.

Tuesday, September 3 at 12:30

Friday, September 6 at 1:30

Using AI In Research – with Dr. Leo Flores, Appalachian State University Department of English

Intended for any faculty members who are preparing materials subject to peer review by members of the scholarly community or those who are teaching research-based courses and interested in student use of AI for research. Dr. Leo Flores is Chair of the English Department at Appalachian State University. His research areas are electronic literature, with a focus on e-poetry, digital writing, and the history and strategic growth of the field. He is a member of the MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on AI and Writing. Dr. Flores will talk about about the roles of AI and writing when considering the scholarship and creative activities undertaken by faculty. These might include grant applications/proposals, research articles, conference presentations, creative works, and other kinds of professional writing. provisional guidance for evaluating the use of AI in Scholarship and Creativity, including basic standards for the ethical use of these technologies. We have drafted these with two audiences in mind: for scholars who are preparing materials that are subject to peer review by members of the scholarly community, and for reviewers who are looking for guidance about how to approach submissions that have used AI tools as part of the process.

Exploring ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude & Perplexity AI

Workshop Description:
Join us for an interactive Zoom session designed to introduce faculty to the powerful features of four major AI platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot. This session will explore how each tool can be utilized to enhance teaching, learning, and productivity in higher education. We will provide a hands-on walkthrough of each platform’s unique capabilities, focusing on practical applications for academic settings.

Key topics include:

• ChatGPT: Generating responses, assisting with content creation, and enhancing student interaction.
• Claude: Advanced natural language processing for in-depth analysis and communication.
• Gemini: Leveraging AI for content summarization and efficient research.
• Copilot: Integrating AI into workflow automation and task management for educators.

This session will be delivered via Zoom and will include live demonstrations, as well as time for questions and discussion on how you can use these tools.

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 17 at 1:30
Platform: Zoom
Audience: Open to all faculty
Presenter: Susan Codone

Exploring AI in Teaching: Resource Curation and Learning Activity Generation

Dr. Susan Codone will lead a collaborative discussion of generating activities for use in the classroom along with using AI to quickly find useful resources.

Tuesday, October 1 at 1:30pm

Friday, October 11 at 12:30pm

Exploring AI Image Generators

Dr. Susan Codone will walk through use of Adobe Firefly, Canva, Midjourney, Dall-E-3, and other common image generator tools.

Tuesday, October 15 at 12:30pm

Friday, October 18 at 1:30pm

AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum 2024-25

The inaugural Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum is designed to help departments, programs, colleges, and universities respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) presents for courses and curricula. Throughout the 2024–25 academic year, the institute will engage participating teams via virtual events, mentorship, and interactions as they develop and implement AI action plans for their classrooms, curricula, and campuses.

Mercer Faculty Participants

Jeff Hall, Ed.D.,  Professor of Education, Tift College of Education

Gail Kemp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology, College of Health Professions

David Garber, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Old Testament and Hebrew, McAfee School of Theology

Bremen Vance, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Technical Communication, School of Engineering

Susan Codone, Ph.D., Professor, Technical Communication, School of Engineering