A Spooktacular Teaching Commons Mashup: Active Learning Meets AI!

Eighteen faculty members from across the College of Science and Mathematics gathered on October 27 for a spirited Teaching Commons @ CSAM Halloween Mashup. The workshop was co-facilitated by biology professor Scott Kight and Uma Mistry, an undergraduate Earth & Environmental Science major and future science teacher. Uma’s leadership and facilitation made the event uniquely inspiring.

Uma led faculty through a series of active learning techniques, including quick writes, analogy reasoning, ranking tasks, and networking strategies, modeling the very Total Participation Techniques (TPTs) she has been learning in her teacher education courses. In a rare and empowering role reversal, Uma guided her own professors through evidence-based engagement strategies, demonstrating the remarkable strength and confidence of CSAM’s future science educators. The faculty praised her poise, clarity, and expertise, noting how powerful it was to learn from one of our soon-to-be teachers.

Scott then introduced a set of AI creativity heuristics designed to help faculty harness generative AI to spark curiosity, deepen conceptual understanding, and inspire student voice in the CSAM classroom. Participants learned prompting techniques that use AI to generate curiosity hooks, cross-concept analogies, emotional framing, and reflective student-voice storytelling, approaches that transform AI from a shortcut tool into a partner for critical and creative thinking.

Participating faculty left with class-ready engagement strategies, AI-enhanced activity ideas, and a new sense of possibility for designing learning experiences that students find irresistible. PRISM celebrates the incredible work of Uma Mistry and the faculty who embraced the Mashup spirit. Stay tuned for our next Teaching Commons session!