Most conversations about AI focus narrowly on student use and plagiarism. At CAFE, we flip the lens—we show how AI fuels faculty innovation in course design, streamlines accessibility, and strengthens research workflows.

Faculty Fellow Spotlight: Antonio Byrd

As a CAFE Faculty Fellow, Dr. Antonio Byrd advances a campus-wide conversation on how artificial intelligence strengthens teaching and learning at UMKC. He helps faculty apply AI tools thoughtfully, weigh ethical implications, and test strategies that keep student learning and accessibility at the center. Through workshops, resources, and dialogue, Antonio creates space for UMKC instructors to experiment with AI in ways that feel practical, creative, and rooted in their teaching contexts.

Last year, Antonio guided faculty through some of the most pressing questions about generative AI and writing, helping us think critically about:

• how students encounter GenAI and what “human-in-the-loop” practice can look like,
• where GenAI belongs (and doesn’t) in the writing process, and
• how to navigate conversations with students about AI use and misuse with empathy and integrity.

That series laid the groundwork for inquiry into AI and teaching at UMKC. This year, Antonio Dr. Byrd builds on that momentum through a Faculty Learning Community and new opportunities to experiment, question, and imagine AI’s future in teaching and research.

AI as a Facilitator: Human in the Loop

In our self-paced course Teaching Large Enrollment Courses, AI supports drafting and scaffolding, but faculty always guide the process. Alexis Petri models how to use AI to design courses while keeping academic judgment, integrity, and creativity in the foreground. In this course, AI facilitates learning design—it never replaces the human voice.

Teaching Large Enrollment Courses
Designing with Intention. Teaching with Impact.

Teaching a large class creates both opportunities and challenges. With more students in the room, faculty must design intentionally, communicate clearly, and assess meaningfully. This self-paced course equips instructors with research-informed strategies for teaching at scale—without defaulting to one-size-fits-all instruction.

Over five concise modules (about 45 minutes each), you will explore course design, instructional strategies, assessment, student communication, and continuous improvement. You will also try generative AI as a support tool—drafting materials, providing feedback on quizzes, and simulating student perspectives. AI doesn’t offer magic fixes, but in this course, you experience it as a learner while reflecting on its possibilities.

Whether you refine a legacy course or prepare to teach your first large lecture, this course sparks new ideas and encourages reflective practice. Because it’s asynchronous, you set your own pace.

Curious? The course is self-paced. Participate 45 minutes per week by signing up through CAFE's Canvas Catalog.

Generative AI in Scholarship

Faculty are also beginning to experiment with AI in research and writing. While AI cannot replace disciplinary expertise or peer review, it accelerates repetitive tasks in scholarship.  

• Research Rabbit (gateway tool): Generate a dynamic map of related work from one seed paper and discover connections you might miss otherwise.

• Dig deeper with Elicit (specialized): Extract variables, compare methods, and scan abstracts for trends—especially useful in systematic reviews.

• Stay current with Semantic Scholar (broad reach): Monitor over 200 million papers with live research feeds that update your saved searches.

• Shape your own outlines with LLMs (flexible support): Tools like ChatGPT or Gemini can draft possible frameworks for a literature review section, which you then refine for disciplinary accuracy and emphasis.

As you explore, verify sources in your disciplinary databases, cross-check AI summaries with full texts, and apply your critical judgment. AI accelerates your workflow, but your scholarly expertise and judgement always drives the process.

Resources for your AI Journey

What We’re Reading: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI

This book challenges us to think beyond hype and fear. Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI offers strategies for aligning values, ethics, and teaching practices in an AI-rich world. We invite you to read alongside us and share your reflections in upcoming faculty discussions. If you'd like a copy of the book, please reach out to us at umkc-cafe@umkc.edu.

Check out Academic Technology's page on UMKC AI Resources

Learn more about Academic Technology's AI Guidelines and Recommendations for Instructors

Learn the basics of AI and how to use it to gain a better understanding of how it can help you, how your students can use it and how to help them use it responsibly.

• What is generative AI, and how do I use it?
• Generative AI training walks you through the basics of AI to implementation.

Have an AI usage policy outlined in your syllabus (required). Be clear and specific about what can and cannot be used. For even better results, consider specifying approved usage for each assignment.

• How do I set and communicate an AI policy?
• AI syllabus information details syllabus creation guidelines and provides additional template resources.

CAFE is hosting two workshops in November 2025

• November 3, 10-11:30 Becoming AI Aware and Beyond in Teaching and Learning (in person and virtual options)
• November 13, 12-1:30 Harnessing GenAI for Faculty Excellence (in person and virtual options)