5.3 Learning Literacy as a Foundation for AI Literacy

Rahul Bhat, Centre for Learning Strategy Support, Resilience Program Lead, Alexander Bowie, Centre for Learning Strategy Support, Learning Strategist, Resilience Focus, Ellyn Kerr, Centre for Learning Strategy Support, Learning Strategist, Grad and Professional Programs, Vivian Zhang, Centre for Learning Strategy Support, Learning Strategist, Innis College

Generative AI is reshaping how we teach and how students learn. This workshop invites instructors to consider: How can we navigate tensions between monitoring unethical and learning-ineffectual AI use and equipping students to make informed, learning-supportive decisions about using AI? How might we shift from deficit or control models that focus primarily on risks, to embrace a growth model that listens to and validates discomforts, harnesses student curiosity, and reinforces the fundamentals of learning?

While the risks of deskilling and academic misconduct are real, the learning-support community is exploring ways to best encourage students in effective learning amidst AI disruption. The Centre for Learning Strategy Support is focusing on learning literacy as a foundation to AI literacy. This approach enables students to embrace desirable difficulty in their learning and apply the critical thinking, metacognitive, and self-regulatory skills essential for responsible AI use.

This interactive workshop introduces a framework that asks students to reflect on AI and learning at three levels: learning in the world, learning within one’s own (academic) context, and learning in practice. Through student stories, reflective case studies, and collaborative brainstorming using Microsoft Whiteboard, we will explore the benefits and tensions in our current approach.

This workshop will ask: How does listening – to ourselves and to our students – improve our practice as educators? As generative AI technologies progress, what are the ways we can reaffirm our commitment to human-centered learning in our teaching?