COE faculty, staff dive into AI-powered teaching

male faculty member takes photo of female faculty member's laptop screen — Dr. Todd Finley, standing, takes a photo of Dr. Loni Crumb’s work during his session of The AI Toolkit professional development workshop.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an inescapable part of everyday life, including on college campuses. Instead of ignoring this fact, East Carolina University’s College of Education (COE) is leaning into AI and learning how to use it for good in their classrooms.

In late May, nearly 30 faculty members gathered for “The AI Educator’s Toolkit: Transforming Teaching and Learning,” a transformative three-day professional development workshop led by Dr. Todd Finley, Dr. Kristen Gregory, Dr. Xi Lin, Dr. Ken Luterbach and Sarah Sconyers. These five COE faculty and staff members are part of the Artificial Intelligence Teaching and Research Institute (AITRI).

“The AITRI training was a game changer,” said. Dr. Loni Crumb, associate professor of counselor education. “I entered with limited knowledge of AI tools and left with a toolbox full of resources to enhance assessment, creativity and curriculum design. The presenters were patient and thorough, and I especially enjoyed the panel sharing how K-12 educators are using AI. This training should be offered every year for COE faculty.”

The workshop aimed to equip educators with the knowledge and tools to integrate AI into their classrooms, research and academic programs. It was promoted by the Center for STEM Education and funded by the college. During the three days, participants explored how AI can enhance student engagement, support scholarly work and drive innovation through breakout sessions and hands-on activities.

A highlight of the workshop was the development of personalized capstone projects. Throughout this upcoming academic year, the participants will gather data relevant to their project, leading to a host of examples of ethical and meaningful AI integration into higher education. Not only will these projects benefit the individual participants, they will also provide an example to their colleagues on how they can use AI in teaching and learning.

In spring 2026, faculty and staff will gather again to present the outcomes of their projects, discusses challenges and successes and celebrate the progress made through their capstones.

Learn more about the AI Teaching and Research Institute by emailing aitri@ecu.edu.

group of 30 COE faculty and staff — The COE faculty and staff who led and participated in “The AI Educator’s Toolkit: Transforming Teaching and Learning”.