Empowering Instructors | Supporting Excellence
The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs has dedicated $50,000 for the 2024-25 academic year to be used for seed funds to enable full-time faculty across the campus to integrate generative AI into course and curricular redesign. Funding is capped at $5,000 per project.
Generative AI technology can produce text, imagery, audio, and synthetic data, and we are seeking projects that leverage this technology to facilitate teaching and learning. Desired outcomes of seed funds include:
Allocated seed grant funds may be used for a variety of purposes, such as bringing external speakers to campus, creating working groups and learning communities within and across majors and degree programs, or enhancing an existing course.
Project categories include:
Promote the creation of AI-driven systems designed to support student success and well-being. These could include AI-based tutoring platforms, mental health support tools, or personalized academic advising systems. Projects should aim to enhance the overall student experience by providing tailored support and resources.
Example Project:
EASE (Educational AI Support for Everyone),
Dominic Sellitto, Management Sciences and Systems
This project sought to further develop, as well as well as implement, the micro-app, EASE (Educational AI Support for Everyone) into the large MGG315 undergraduate course. EASE leverages local Large Language Models (LLMs) to elevate faculty and student engagement. The platform designed provided a suite of AI-powered micro-applications with a focus on enhancing instructor efficiency and student learning.
Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration by funding projects that bring together faculty from different departments to explore the applications of generative AI. These projects should aim to solve complex problems, create new educational resources, or develop innovative AI tools that can be used across multiple fields of study.
Example Project:
Visualizing the Guts of Generative Pre-Transforms (GPTs) and Large Language Models (LLMs),
Kevin Cleary, Management Science and Systems
The aim of this project was to demystify the inner workings of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. As such, professor Cleary worked to produce a graphically rich tool to help students visualize how these inhuman algorithms produce close-to-human results.
Foster projects that critically examine the ethical, social, and cultural implications of AI integration in education and beyond. Proposals should focus on developing frameworks, guidelines, or educational materials that address issues such as bias, privacy, and the societal impact of AI technologies. The goal is to promote responsible AI use and awareness among students and faculty.
Example Project:
The Synergy of Socrates and ChatGPT: Reinventing Seminar Course with AI Technology,
Jaekyung Lee, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
This project worked to redesign an online graduate seminar course, CEP 510 (Psychometric Theory in Education). Students were asked to discuss hypothetical cases (testing scenarios), compare their answers with ChatGPT-generated answers, and check for the accuracy and completeness of answers. Students were also challenged to generate educational/psychological assessments on a topic of their interest via ChatGPT, review test/survey instruments' psychometric properties (e.g., validity, reliability), and evaluate potential biases (e.g., gender, race) in machine-generated test/survey items.
Funded projects must be implemented in spring 2025 and must be scalable. If funded, project leads will work with Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation (CATT) to assess the project’s impact on student learning. Additionally, project leads will participate in an associated AI learning community (convened by CATT) throughout the academic year.
Additional Project Requirements:
Selected seed fund recipients will be notified in October. Thank you to all those that submitted a proposal! Any questions about this initiative can be directed to ubcatt@buffalo.edu.
AI in All the Wrong Places (Enhancing the Existing Course Computational Media II: Machine Learning),
Marc Böhlen, Art
The Synergy of Socrates and ChatGPT: Reinventing Seminar Course with AI Technology,
Jaekyung Lee, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
Large Language Models for Medical Imaging Education,
David Wack, Nuclear Medicine
Integrating Generative AI for Architectural Excellence,
Randy Fernando, Architecture
Game Studies Program, Exploring How Generative AI tools can be Incorporated Across Courses,
Dave Pape, Media Study
AI as a Romance Ally,
Barbara Avila-Shah, Romance Languages and Literature
EASE (Educational AI Support for Everyone),
Dominic Sellitto, Management Sciences and Systems
Transforming Periodontal and Dental Care Powered by Artificial Intelligence,
Nathalia Pavia de Andrade, Periodontics and Endodontics
Visualizing the Guts of Generative Pre-Transforms (GPTs) and Large Language Models (LLMs),
Kevin Cleary, Management Science and Systems
Enhancing Student Creativity and Critical Thinking in Architectural Design,
Shawn Lewis, Architecture