The Science of Learning Meets AI (Teaching in Higher Ed #619)

Lew Ludwig and Todd Zakrajsek explain how established learning-science frameworks, backward design, Universal Design for Learning, and Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT), become more rather than less important when AI enters the classroom, and how AI can make them easier to implement. They introduce the idea of generative AI intuition, the skill of iterating with a chatbot the way you would rephrase a question to a student, and argue that backward design, starting from learning goals before deciding where AI fits, is the question faculty should ask instead of how to AI-proof an assignment.

Task

Teaching & course design

Time

55 min

Level

intermediate

Cost

Free — Nothing to pay. A free account at most.

Tools

ChatGPT, Claude

Published

2026-04-23

Voice

Bonni Stachowiak — The best on-ramp for a non-technical instructor who wants to hear another named human describe exactly what they tried in a real course last term.