Moving the Needle

Scott Riley and Dave Bunnell discuss the current global shift in health professions education known as Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) that emphasizes demonstrated competence rather than time spent in training. Dr. Bunnell explains the reasons for the change and how it is being implemented.

Cohosts Mary Crowley-Farrell and Ron Hansen speak with David Leasure, Director of Faculty and Professor, First Year Experience Department, University of Maryland Global Campus. David shares how his team is using AI to help faculty communicate more effectively while saving time for what matters most.

Cohosts Jennifer Potter and Mary Crowley-Farrell welcome Zach Runge, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Harford Community College and an adjunct professor at Towson University. Zach explains how he built custom AI tools to integrate into writing assignments for students in his speech class that support student voice, confidence, and ethical engagement without replacing authentic learning.

Cohost Erin Hagar welcomes Dr. Krista Tookhan, Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine. Dr. Tookhan explains how she brings fun and creativity into her classroom inventing games that inspire her students and lead to better performance overalll.

What if the solution to AI policy challenges isn't stricter rules but bringing students into the conversation? AI, Unscripted returns for another season on MTN with Yasmine Kotturi, Assistant Professor, UMBC. Dr. Kotturi shares her groundbreaking approach to AI governance in higher education with co-hosts Jennifer Potter and Mary Crowley-Farrell. Instead of top-down policies that students resist, Dr. Koturri’s research demonstrates how participatory policy design transforms the conversation, turning enforcement into engagement and compliance into critical thinking. Yasmine Kotturi: https://ykotturi.github.io/

Cohost Dave Bunnell welcomes Dr. Rayne Loder, PhD, PA-C, Tufts University School of Medicine. Rayne discusses her innovative approach of using music to teach foundational concepts in medical education.

Erin Hagar welcomes back Dr. Mary Jo Bondy and Dr. Karen Gordes. Following up on their introduction of Trauma Informed Pedagogy introduced in episode 27, they discuss a faculty development initiative they designed to share their knowledge of trauma informed pedagogy across the UMB campus, its impact, and their hopes going forward.

Scott Riley joins the hosts of AI Unscripted to answer questions from the audience about AI in the classroom and to reflect on what the team learned while working on the series as well as what they'd like to explore in future episodes.

Jennifer Potter and Mary Crowley-Farrell talk with Liyan Song, PhD, Towson University, about how she leverages Blackboard Ultra’s AI companion to prompt deep reflection in her instructional design students.

Erin introduces a new cohost, Dave Bunnell who chats with his first guest, Jenn Aumiller about what she learned about mentorship, equity, and belonging in academic science through her research on mentoring experiences of Indian biomedical postdocs in the U.S.

Co-hosts Mike Mills and Mary Crowley-Farrell speak with Denyce Watts-Daniels, Associate Professor in Nursing at Coppin State about her use of Generative AI to create case studies relevant to her nursing students.

Cohosts Jennifer Potter and Mary Crowley-Farrell interview Eleanor Welsh, Professor of English Chesapeake College. Eleanor recounts her journey from AI skeptic to advocate, showing how she now uses AI to enhance research writing and film studies. Her approach to source verification and critical evaluation offers accessible entry points for humanities faculty.

Cohosts Mike Mills and Mary Crowley-Farrell talk with Derek Willis from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland about how he teaches students to use AI to evaluate data and question truth claims in the journalistic process. He offers a crucial civic and interdisciplinary perspective, grounded in journalistic ethics and process thinking.

Host Erin Hagar speaks with Dr. Hee Hwan Park, DDS, Clinical Assistant Professor and Ryan Kasraii, a 4th year Dental student at UMB School of Dentistry. Dr. Park and Ryan talk about their mentoring relationship and how it fostered connection and became a powerful motivator for learning.