Jennifer Turns

2025 Research Speaker Series

Jennifer Turns

Professor, HCDE

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
4:30 – 5:20 p.m.
Sieg Building, room 134

 

Generative AI as a Thinking Partner in Graduate Education: An Autoethnographic Exploration

This talk will share a presentation related to AI that was given at a conference in June, focusing on (a) what was shared at the time, (b) how attendees responded, and (c) implications for those in the audience. 

Here is the abstract for the original work: 

Teaching in interdisciplinary graduate programs presents unique challenges, such as requiring faculty to support diverse backgrounds while providing individualized mentoring. While generative AI offers potential support for educators, little is known about its effective integration in graduate education. This autoethnographic study examines one faculty member's experience incorporating AI as a thinking partner in a required graduate course. Through analysis of three interviews conducted across an academic term, complemented by course documentation and collaborative dialogues, the study explores both the technical possibilities ("Can I?") and ethical implications ("Should I?") of AI integration. Results reveal three pivotal moments: using AI to co-construct assignments with students, leveraging AI for real-time analysis of student learning, and discovering how AI's limitations can spark pedagogical insight. The findings suggest that AI can make the inherent challenges of graduate education more productive rather than merely manageable. Rather than reducing teaching complexity, AI created productive constraints that supported faculty judgment while strengthening connections with students. This study offers practical guidance for faculty considering AI integration while contributing to our theoretical understanding of graduate education in an AI-enhanced future.