Jill Stefaniak, Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, and Stephanie Moore, Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico, presented at the Quality Matters conference on “The Use of Generative AI to Support Inclusivity and Design Deliberation for Online Instruction.” Stefaniak noted that there are numerous design decisions instructional designers make. Stefaniak explained that there are also numerous tools that can be leverage to customize instruction and address unique needs in learning experiences. They defined deliberative design as “emphasizing intentional, cognitive, and ethical engagement with design decisions” including how will learners be engaged and feedback be provided. Stefaniak shared a slide with:
Deliberative design is an intentional act of exercising care in design.
Deliberation is needed when using generative AI because the outputs are only as good as the prompts and system. Stefaniak emphasized that designers “must engage in reflection-in-action = a term from Schon (1983) describing a “conversation” with the problem as it unfolds.” Stefaniak suggested asking ourselves questions: how does this look like from the designer and learner perspectives? Moore shared several early deliberation activities that designers engage in that could be facilitated by AI. In an example Moore gave, intentionally framing the problem with inclusion and accessibility influences the design considerations.
Moore spoke about how design is iterative and can be used to “fold in” reflection and deliberation. AI can help generate prototypes quickly, Moore said, and free up time for designing within the constraints present. The session ended with an exchange of ideas and problem framing on a Padlet.
