CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Preparing current and future educators for the implications of artificial intelligence in the classroom is the focus of this year’s Carlton-Mellichamp Lecture in Education at the University of Northern Iowa. The event is free and open to interested area professionals, UNI students, faculty and staff. 

Selin Akgun will present “Fostering AI Literacy in Education: Cultivating Critical Consciousness towards Ethical AI,” as the lecture’s keynote address on Feb. 29 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Budke Auditorium in the Schindler Education Center. A reception from 4 to 4:30 p.m. in the College of Education’s second floor atrium precedes the keynote lecture. 

Presentations to faculty and students follow on March 1, focused on AI in teaching, learning and research, and in PreK-12 classrooms. 

Akgun is a graduate research assistant at Michigan State University who is completing her doctoral degree. Her research focuses on the applications of AI in education by centering on how to teach societal and ethical implications of AI in K-12 STEM settings and how to integrate AI within formative assessment in science classrooms. 

Registration is encouraged to attend the keynote address, faculty and student sessions and can be found on the event website, coe.uni.edu/carlton-mellichamp-lecture-education. 

This is the fifth in the sponsored series created in 2018. The series is supported by a donation to the UNI Foundation by Suzanne Carlton and Duncan Mellichamp. It allows the College of Education to stimulate the dissemination, public scrutiny and implementation of ideas with the potential to bring about significant improvement in professional practice and educator preparation.