Connecticut College AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium: Full Schedule

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10:20am EDT

How Can We Thoughtfully Respond to AI? Cultivating a Critical AI Literacy in the Writing Classroom

Saturday October 17, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT

As many campuses begin adding AI tools into their classrooms, there is immense pressure to figure out how to quickly implements these technologies in order to avoid being left behind. As digital humanists, though, we also emphasize incorporating new technology carefully and critically which often contrasts with the ways these technologies flood bland, AI generated text into our classrooms. To this end, the presenter will offer his approach and lessons learned from implementing an assignment sequence that required students to “audit” the outputs of generative AI platforms. Students worked in small groups to develop a report that assessed the accuracy and effectiveness of the genAI platforms’ source use. In treating AI technologies as a site for critical inquiry, students acquired a more nuanced understanding of AI hallucinations and a greater appreciation for how academic sources support arguments.

Speakers

Noah Wason

Saturday October 17, 2026 10:20am - 11:20am EDT
Blaustein 203

Round Table, Pedagogical Practice & The Human Element

Company SUNY Cortland

1:10pm EDT

Scaffolding Rhetorical Authority through Intentional Failure

Saturday October 17, 2026 1:10pm - 1:20pm EDT

Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)

This lightning talk introduces Iterative Failure Tracing (IFT), a framework that reframes generative AI errors as catalysts for critical inquiry. While Large Language Models threaten to replace student effort, their propensity for noun-heavy syntax and factual hallucinations creates a productive validation burden (Sanz-Tejeda et al., 2026). By identifying these critical incidents, students transition from the success trap of passive acceptance to genuine rhetorical authority (Colby, 2025). My presentation demonstrates how prompting as writing functions as a rigorous rhetorical act. Drawing on sabbatical findings from 42 student artifacts, I illustrate the metacognitive shift that occurs when students perform linguistic repair on AI output (Graham, 2023). Finally, I will examine how to scaffold assignments that require students to locate and correct AI failures, ensuring the human writer remains the primary agent of meaning-making in the liberal arts tradition.

Speakers

Jeffrey L. Jackson

Instructor, SUNY Cortland

Jeffrey L. Jackson, PhD, is an Instructor of First-Year Composition at SUNY Cortland with over 20 years of experience teaching writing at the university level. He earned his doctorate in Mass Communication from Syracuse University, where his research focused on identity and moral... Read More →

Saturday October 17, 2026 1:10pm - 1:20pm EDT
Shain Library Chu Room (First floor)

Lightning, Pedagogical Practice & The Human Element

Company SUNY Cortland

Connecticut College AI and the Liberal Arts Symposium

10:20am EDT

Noah Wason

1:10pm EDT

Jeffrey L. Jackson

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