SEEdS:
Innovation through Engaged, Multi-Interest Partnership

Seminar Description

This seminar examines how frontier technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can be ethically and equitably adopted through intentional collaboration between educators and researchers, and across systems, ensuring that innovation expands rather than narrows opportunity. It also explores how cross-functional and cross-institutional research partnerships can be strategically designed and leveraged to pursue competitive funding and sustain ambitious, collaborative learning initiatives.

This presentation was part of the Fulton Schools of Engineering Education Seminar (SEEdS) series, a monthly virtual speaker series that engages community members in discussions on engineering education. Learn more about SEEdS here.

From the discussion

While the discussion portions of SEEdS are not included in the recordings, here are a few key takeaways:

AI-enabled learning systems should inform educator judgment, not replace it.

A central point of the discussion was that dashboards, alerts, and summaries are descriptive tools, not prescriptive ones. Educators still need to interpret what the AI-enabled system shows in the context of their own knowledge of students. What looks like low participation for one student may be completely typical for another, so human judgment remains essential in deciding whether action is needed.

💡 How can you use AI-generated information while still keeping your professional judgment at the center?

The value of AI tools depends on facilitation, not novelty.

AI tools work best when educators remain actively engaged and  intentionally integrate them into instruction. When used as stand-alone or novelty experiences, or when technical issues arise, student frustration increases quickly. However, when instructors contextualize the experience, connect it to real learning goals, and actively facilitate, AI-enabled environments can meaningfully support student learning.

💡 Where in your course could AI tools add value only if paired with thoughtful facilitation?

Guest Speaker

Dr. Krista Glazewski is the executive director of the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and associate dean for translational research in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. Dr. Glazewski’s work focuses on ways to develop instruction to support learning through complex problem solving with collaborative inquiry supported by foundational and emergent technologies. Spanning multiple regions in the U.S., Dr. Glazewski’s work investigates how and under what conditions teachers might adopt and adapt new practices. The integration of these ideas has resulted in numerous contributions, over 70 publications and $10 million in external funding primarily from the National Science Foundation, US Department of Education and the Department of Defense. Dr. Glazewski received her Ph.D. in Educational Technology at ASU. She is a former middle school teacher originally from New Mexico.

Dr. Kimberly Farnsworth is a research scholar at the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. Dr. Farnsworth’s focus is on bridging innovative educational research and K-12 classroom practice, including leveraging AI to foster complex, collaborative problem solving through narrative-centered learning environments. Her current research as part of the EngageAI Institute is centered on K-12 teachers’ leveraging AI for adaptive scaffolding of student learning. Dr. Farnsworth is an ASU alumna receiving a master of education in Educational Technology, as well as a doctor of education degree from Indiana University in Instructional Systems Technology. She currently lives in Arizona and enjoys volunteering in the community working with vulnerable youth and as a former foster parent.

Missed a session? Access recordings of past SEEdS topics on our YouTube channel or those in the ASU community can explore our SEEdS resource folder.