Teaching with Heart in the Age of AI: Grounding Teaching and Learning in Our Shared Humanity

Abstract

Teaching feels a little weird right now. On one hand, AI and digital tools are opening new possibilities for creativity, access, and efficiency in higher education. On the other hand, many of us are also wondering how to hold onto the deeply human parts of teaching and learning that cannot be automated: presence, connection, reflection, empathy, shared laughter, and the simple but profound experience of being seen by another person. Some days it feels exciting and other days it feels a bit overwhelming. Usually, it’s a mix of both.

Over the past year, I have kept coming back to the question: how do we hold onto and ground ourselves in our humanity in our classrooms?

This session is a personal reflection on my efforts to keep connection, presence, and shared human experience at the center of my teaching in an increasingly AI-shaped world. Like many of you, I find myself both curious and cautious about AI in the classroom and what might get lost along the way, which is why I keep returning to practices that help myself and my students feel more present and connected. In this session I explore how small practices at the beginning of class (in-person or virtual) can foster connection and reflection that help create balance and grounding for both students and instructors.

Drawing from positive psychology, contemplative practices, and the Healthy Minds Framework, discussed in Born to Flourish (Davidson & Dahl, 2026), I share classroom practices such as gratitude/kindness reflections, mindfulness check-ins, grounding exercises, poetry/art contemplation, and opportunities for students to share moments of happiness, humor, joy, awe, or meaning from their week. Students consistently reflect on how much these moments matter. They help students slow down, feel present, and remember that they are more than a grade or discussion post. They help me remember this as well.

At the heart of this reflection is the simple belief that no matter how much technology changes teaching, human connection still matters most. My students may not remember every lecture or reading, but they often remember how a class made them feel, whether they felt seen, and whether thy felt like they belonged there. All this is a critical foundation for student-centered learning. I hope this session creates space for educators to reflect on how we can continue building classrooms rooted in presence, compassion, curiosity, and shared humanity in the age of AI.

Presenters