Learning & Education Advancement Fund Plus (LEAF+)

2023 LEAF+ Project Theme: Generative AI in Teaching and Learning

In conjunction with the current call for Expressions of Interest for the Learning & Education Advancement Fund (LEAF), the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (OVPIUE) welcomes proposals for projects addressing the theme of Generative AI in Teaching and Learning. Given the potential impacts, opportunities and challenges of this emergent technology for the ways our course instructors and students engage in learning, the OVPIUE is interested in Seed Grant projects to help inform the community’s use in pedagogical contexts.

Example project areas include:

  • Developing assessment and pedagogical methods that leverage opportunities, or respond to issues, created by the technology.
  • Creating activities for learners that utilize the technology.
  • Raising student digital literacy/awareness on appropriate use of generative AI tools.
  • Developing approaches that use the technology for formative feedback.
  • Responding to disciplinary specific concerns/opportunities.
  • Other related topics.

Funding recipients in this category will form a cross-disciplinary network, meeting periodically to share insights as new approaches using or responding to AI in teaching and learning are prototyped across the projects. This early exploration will serve as a conduit for feedback to OVPIUE on instructors’ experiences piloting new strategies and methods. Given the rapidly changing landscape (platforms, capabilities, norms), proposed projects should be agile and include components that are platform and tool agnostic, wherever possible. Emphasis should be given to pedagogical considerations, both practical and conceptual, in order to surface key learning in this new context for others within the community.

Updates on LEAF+ Generative AI in Teaching and Learning Projects

2023 LEAF+ projects are now underway. Findings from the projects will be disseminated with the U of T community in a showcase event in winter 2024. To learn more about LEAF+ contact digital.learning@utoronto.ca.

Visit the ChatGPT and Generative AI in the Classroom Frequently Asked Questions webpage for more information about Generative AI in the classroom.

  • LEAF+ projects began in spring 2023 and are currently underway.
  • Prototype of pilot projects are to be completed by end of fall term 2023.
  • Project leads will submit a short report on their project in January 2024.
  • Community showcase event will be held in winter 2024 followed by the publication of LEAF+ projects on the website.

For more information about these projects, visit Open UToronto, Open Resources and Innovation Projects at the University of Toronto.

Project NameProject Lead(s)Division / Unit
Deployment of LLM-based Personal Coding Assistants that Balance Helpfulness and Directness Tovi Grossman Faculty of Arts & Science, Computer Science
Understanding the Limits of AI-Based Image Generators with DALL·E 2 and Midjourney Alec JacobsonFaculty of Arts & Science, Computer Science
Instructor-AI Collaborative Content Generation Project Joseph Jay Williams, Nathan LaundryFaculty of Arts & Science, Computer Science
Generative Generative AI ​Malayna Bernstein, Claire Battershill, Seamus Ross, Matt RattoFaculty of Information
AI for Image Research in Art and ArchitectureCathryn CopperUniversity of Toronto Libraries, Eberhard Zeidler Library
Designing Differentiated Instruction in the Foreign Language Classroom Using ChatGPTChiu-Hung ChenUniversity of Toronto Mississauga, Language Studies
Exploring Affordances of Generative AI Tools for Pre-service (language) Teacher Education: From lesson development to assessmentJi-young Shin University of Toronto Mississauga, Language Studies
Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn in the Generative AI LandscapeDan Guadagnolo, Sarah Cherki El-Idrissi, Kate Maddalena, Michael Nixon, Steve Szigeti University of Toronto Mississauga, Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology
Intelligent Support for Enhancing Problem Solving and Metacognitive Skills in CS courses: A Novel Tool Combining Large Language Models and Reinforcement LearningMichael LiutUniversity of Toronto Mississauga, Mathematical and Computation Sciences
Strengthening Co-op Student’s Communication Skills for Job Search and Workplace SuccessLynn Tucker, Susan Soikie, Cynthia Jairam-PersaudUniversity of Toronto Scarborough, Arts & Science Co-op
Exploring Ethical and Creative Uses of Generative AI to Support Equity-Deserving Students Elaine KhooUniversity of Toronto Scarborough, Centre for Teaching and Learning