Teaching with AI Is a Design Problem

As generative AI reshapes higher education, instructors face a complex challenge: how do we thoughtfully integrate these tools into our teaching? This talk draws on three research studies and over five course deployments in computer science and data science to explore the practical realities of AI integration in the classroom. I’ll begin by mapping the spectrum of attitudes we encounter—from conscientious objectors to AI superusers—among both faculty and students, highlighting the tensions that arise when instructors impose their AI philosophies onto learners. From there, I’ll introduce a methodology for curriculum integration that centers learning objectives in the design process and emphasizes the importance of evaluation, framing this work as an exploration of a vast design space rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Finally, I’ll address the institutional and practical dimensions: navigating access barriers, aligning with institutional policy, and crafting clear course policies for generative AI use that respect student autonomy. Whether you’re excited, concerned, or both about AI’s impact on your teaching, this session offers grounded insights and concrete strategies for starting your own path forward.

Bio:

Dongwook Yoon is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of British Columbia, and a member of Designing for People (DFP) and CAIDA. His overarching goal is to make computer-mediated social interactions richer, more inclusive, and more humane. He attends to problem domains where technology design does not match the social process. To make the technology fit human social interactions, his research assesses user needs in socio-technical systems and addresses such needs by realizing and testing novel design interventions. Yoon is a recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including Google Academic Research Awards (2024) and the CHCCS/SCDHM Graphics Interface Early Career Researcher Award (2023). His work has also been recognized with Best Paper Awards at CHI (2024), High-Impact Award from the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2024), Honorable Mention Awards at DIS (2022) and CHI (2019), and an Impact Recognition Award at CSCW (2021). During his Ph.D. studies, he was awarded the Kwanjeong Educational Foundation Scholarship (2012-2017). He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell in 2017; and his M.S. and B.S. from Seoul National University in 2009 and 2007, respectively. His research and training programs are supported by generous funds from UBC, NSERC, KIST, Adobe, Microsoft, and Google.

AI and Education Seminar Series: Tools, Impacts, and Future

This event is part of the AI and Education Seminar Series: Tools, Impacts, and Future.  This seminar series is co-hosted by the UBC Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTLT) and the UBC Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-making and Action (CAIDA).

These AI and Education seminars are designed to bring together scholars and educators from across the UBC campus to discuss the future of education in light of new AI tools such as Generative AI (GenAI). In these seminars, speakers will share their expertise in the field, their experiences with integrating AI tools into their teaching, and their perspectives on what the future might look like, as well as the responsibilities educators have in shaping that future.

Directions:

Directions to ICCS X836 – entering from Main Mall:

• Go to the second floor of the ICCS building
• Go up the ramp to the X wing and through the double doors.
• Turn right and take the elevator to the 8th floor.
• Turn left when getting off the elevator to access X836.

Directions to ICCS X836 – entering from Engineering Road:

• Take the elevator to the 8th floor.
• Turn left when getting off the elevator to access X836.