Abstract
As generative AI (GenAI) tools become increasingly embedded in educational environments, pressing questions emerge around how to integrate them responsibly, balancing innovation with transparency, student agency, and ethical oversight. This paper focuses on the GenAI-by-Design framework, a pedagogical orientation grounded in Human-Centered AI (HCAI) principles and developed through a multi-year, mixed-methods research program examining the use of calibrated GenAI tools in formative feedback across graduate-level education programs in the U.S. Rooted in multiliteracies pedagogy and UNESCO’s AI Competency Framework for Students, this framework positions GenAI not as a substitute for human judgment, but as a dialogic, ethically scaffolded component within a broader feedback ecology. Over multiple iterations of instructional implementation, findings reveal a shift in student perceptions, from initial skepticism to collaborative engagement, as GenAI tools were refined using discipline-specific corpora and integrated alongside peer and instructor feedback. This iterative body of work demonstrates how intentional HCAI-informed design and pedagogy can cultivate AI literacy, support equitable learning experiences, and uphold human values within technologically mediated education. By centering ethical integration and learner agency, GenAI-by-Design contributes to critical conversations on AI-augmented learning, offering a structured yet flexible pathway for embedding generative technologies into higher education without compromising trust, transparency, or academic integrity.
Presenters
Anastasia-Olga (Olnancy) TziridesResearch Scientist, Information Trust Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States Duane Searsmith
Research Programmer, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States Mary Kalantzis
Professor, College of Education, University of Illinois, United States William Cope
Professor, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, United States Gabriela C. Zapata
Associate Professor in Education, School of Education, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Generative AI, Human-Centered AI, Higher Education Instruction, Formative Feedback
