Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning Archives

Senior Instructor John Turner and Assistant Professor Dr. Cynthia Johnson, both with the Department of English, co-facilitated a panel on college writing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the 40th Annual Faculty Showcase on Teaching & Learning held Aug. 13. The showcase is hosted by Missouri State’s Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL).

The panel is just one of several efforts Turner and Johnson have coordinated to assist faculty and — by extension — students in how to understand and write responsibly with AI. The pair also conducted a faculty learning community (FLC) event on writing with AI this past spring and will hold a similar session this fall.

Turner teaches professional and technical writing in the English department and has already taught three sections on AI and writing. Johnson, in addition to teaching, directs the English department’s composition program.

Two faculty members from the Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities have been awarded the 2024 Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) Teaching Excellence Award.

The honorees, associate professor Dr. Jennifer LaPrade and associate professor Dr. William Sandel, teach in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Only four faculty were selected overall for the award.

Each year the FCTL recognizes faculty members who have been nominated due to their demonstrated teaching excellence and dedication to student success.

“Bill and Jennifer take teaching to another level,” said Dr. Brett Garland, head of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “Both are constantly experimenting with new techniques and have a wonderful ability to motivate students to aim higher and push their limits.”

“They are like all great teachers who recognize that both learning and teaching are a process—and they are committed to continuously refining the art of teaching,” Garland continued. “I think their students pick up on that and become energized from it.”

Nominated faculty members go through a rigorous application process, with the FCTL recognizing top applicants with the distinguished excellence in teaching award.

English professors guide faculty on college writing and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

LaPrade and Sandel receive FCTL honors