Generative AI is already reshaping how students learn, write, and prepare for their careers, and how faculty teach and conduct research. DDDI supports School of Arts and Sciences(SAS) faculty in developing a working understanding of generative AI and in deciding, on their own terms, whether and how to bring it into their teaching and scholarship.

To meet faculty where they are, DDDI offers multiple entry points rather than a single required course. The How AI Works mini-course for faculty is an intensive introduction to generative AI systems taught by DDDI co-Director Bhuvnesh Jain along with colleagues from Computer and Information Science, Wharton, The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning (CETLI), and Penn Libraries. For ongoing, discipline specific support at the departmental level, AI Training for Teaching and Research builds a network of peer faculty partners who bring tailored generative AI sessions and materials directly to their own colleagues. These are followed by 'office hours' for 1-1 consultations. And finally, for faculty who want to explore innovations in teaching and actively shape how generative AI is used in their  classroom, the AI Pedagogy Initiative, a partnership between Penn Graduate School of Education(GSE) and SAS, is a structured approach to co-design, test, and refine AI enhanced teaching over a full semester. All of these initiatives are being offered in Fall 2026 and will evolve and continue into subsequent semesters.

The Mini-course for SAS Faculty

How AI Works is a two day, mini-course for SAS and all Penn faculty. It was first offered in June 2026. Hybrid versions of the course will be offered during the teaching semesters to reach all interested faculty. The course covers how modern generative AI systems work and how to evaluate their use in teaching and research, with no technical background required. It is taught by Bhuvnesh Jain (Physics & Astronomy), with guest lecturers Chris Callison Burch (Computer and Information Science) and Laura Zarrow (Wharton Generative AI Labs), and lab sessions led by Rachel Hoke (CETLI) and Jajwalya Karajgikar (Penn Libraries). The course moves through six modules on the fundamentals of AI, data driven models, neural networks, large language models, and the limitations and future of generative AI, ending with hands-on lab where participants build custom AI tools for their own teaching or research.

For more details, see the course description (PDF)

AI Training for Teaching and Research

AI Fluency for Teaching is a peer led initiative that trains one or two AI faculty partners in each department to run a discipline specific, training session on AI for teaching. It is intended to reach all interested faculty and TAs in their department, using materials developed by DDDI and Penn Law with support from the Vice Provost for Education. Partners get an informal orientation session and, where useful, funding for graduate student led office hours, so departments can offer ongoing, tailored support to their faculty and TAs. A parallel set of training sessions for research will be offered in Spring 2027.

AI Innovation (lead by Penn GSE)

The Penn AI Pedagogy Initiative pairs interested faculty with a learning sciences researcher and a student technical partner to co-design AI enhanced activities for a course they are teaching. The Initiative is funded by the Discovering the Future grant from Penn AI with PI Seiji Isotani from GSE partnering with Emily Hannum and Bhuvnesh Jain from SAS. Over a sixteen week cycle, the team observes the classroom, prototypes tools such as custom tutors, interactive exercises or digital personas, tests them with students, and contributes the results to a shared teaching repository open to educators worldwide.