The California Learning Lab creates incentives and opportunities to spur faculty innovation while promoting research and resources that support student success. The AI Fast Challenge Grants were awarded to the following CSUs This link will take you to an external website in a new tab..
Bakersfield
ELEVATE: Enhancing Learning Experiences Via AI Techniques
This project will develop a program that designs, implements, and scales a framework for personalized AI tutors at California State University, Bakersfield, aimed at enhancing teaching practices and promoting digital equity through engaging, constructivist educational experiences.
Dominguez Hills
Developing and Testing the “Build Your Career Pathway” AI Chatbot at CSU Dominguez Hills and East Los Angeles College This project aims to enhance the career-readiness of students at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) and East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and other regional community colleges by developing and deploying an AI Chatbot to provide immediate, tailored responses to student inquiries about career and educational pathways, testing in it classroom settings and integrating it into the curricula of numerous programs.
Fullerton
G????T: Generative Practice Interview Trainer
This project aims to develop G????T: Generative Practice Interview Trainer, an artificial intelligence-powered mock interview bot that can be utilized by faculty of any course to close opportunity gaps by providing students with authentic content-based job interview experience.
Titan Research Immersion: Empowering Diversity in Chip Design
This project seeks to empower underrepresented students by offering hands-on experience in chip design through the use of AI-driven, open-access tools, promoting both diversity and innovation within the semiconductor industry.
Fresno
The Japanese American Internment Testimony Interactive Q&A Project
This project aims to develop a pilot project for an AI-powered interactive Q&A system to preserve and promote Japanese American internment testimonies in Fresno and Central California.
Maritime
Addressing Generative AI Literacy Gaps in Gateway Writing and Mathematics Courses
This project aims to address equity gaps in students’ use of AI tools and evaluate the impact of AI-literate assignments on critical thinking, writing, problem-solving, and quantitative reasoning skills in gateway writing and math courses at CSU Maritime, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Davis.
AI Literacy for Quantitative Experimentation
Faculty from Cal Maritime’s Mechanical Engineering and Library departments will develop an AI literacy framework for courses involving quantitative experimentation, piloted in an engineering course. The project will create instructional and assessment materials to teach students about the uses, ethical implications, and limitations of AI throughout the technical paper writing process. Students will evaluate AI’s role in literature searches, data analysis, and manuscript reviews, advancing AI literacy and fostering equitable understanding regardless of prior exposure. Materials will be applicable across diverse contexts and shared as Open Educational Resources (OER). Outcomes will be disseminated via conference presentations and a peer-reviewed journal article.
Monterey Bay
Natural Language Processing tool to analyze lower-division chemistry course evaluations
In collaboration with UCLA, this project will develop a robust NLP model to analyze student course evaluations in lower-division chemistry courses, providing faculty with actionable insights to enhance inclusive teaching practices in their classroom.
Pomona
Collaborative AI Integration in STEM Education
The Collaborative AI Integration in STEM Education project aims to enhance students’ collaborative use of generative AI (genAI) through tasks designed to foster teamwork, critical thinking, and accessible learning for diverse student populations. With a focus on underrepresented groups (Hispanic, first-generation, and female students), the project has two main goals: (1) to co-design, pilot, and validate genAI-integrated collaborative mathematical tasks and (2) to explore how these tasks create equitable learning environments. The project bridges the gap between students’ desire for efficiency and faculty’s emphasis on critical thinking, improving prompt quality, student-AI interaction, and metacognitive skills. Deliverables include instructional guidelines for genAI integration in STEM, practical tools for collaborative problem-solving, and resources shared on OER platforms, impacting 100 faculty and 4,000 students at Cal Poly Pomona.
Pomona and San Francisco
Customizable AI Integration in Higher Education: Marketing Example
This project addresses challenges in adopting AI in higher education with a customizable, tiered framework that accommodates varying levels of expertise and institutional resources. Designed to bridge equity gaps, it includes five components: Tier 1 focuses on course-level integration with AI-powered case studies, capstone projects, and embedded course modules, while Tier 2 includes a semester-long AI course and an AI certificate program. The project will provide comprehensive educational resources—courseware, teaching materials, and strategies—and evaluate its impact on student learning, equity, and teaching optimization.
San Francisco
E-GAISE: Ethical Generative AI in Undergraduate Computer Science Education
The E-GAISE project aims to develop GenAI-focused curricular materials for undergraduate Computer Science students at various stages of their college careers (sophomore, junior, and senior levels) using a data-driven, iterative approach while partnering with students to create content that emphasizes AI literacy and ethical AI practices.
GenAI Preparedness for Teaching & Learning at SF State
To remain at the cutting edge of teaching, learning, and workforce development in this age of GenAI, San Francisco State University, a minority-serving institution located in the heart of the AI revolution, will use this AI Fast Challenge grant to facilitate faculty development and academic department readiness, by supporting inter-faculty and inter and intra-department collaborations, leading to the discovery and development of necessary processes, policies, curriculum, pedagogical support, tools, and technical training, with a critical, equitable and ethical lens.
SCAPE: Student-centered Collaborative AI Platform for Personalized Engineering Learning Experience
The SCAPE project at San Francisco State University aims to develop an open-source, student-centered collaborative AI platform to provide personalized engineering learning experiences while promoting equity, critical thinking, and transparency in AI-driven education.
San Diego
Animate Math Concepts in Engineering Education using Large Language Models
This project will leverage Generative AI to create dynamic, Python-driven animations using the manim library, revolutionizing the visualization and understanding of complex mathematical and engineering concepts in education.
San José
Cost-effective, Bespoke Adaptive Tutoring using Open Source Tools and GenAI
In collaboration with UC Berkeley and Mission College, this project will tailor mastery learning pedagogy for STEM instructors at all three segments of California higher ed by leveraging an Open Adaptive Tutor (OATutor.io) based on field-leading GenAI research.
GenAI as Coding Tutor to Support First Year Engineering Students
This project integrates an AI coding tutor for an introductory programming course in MATLAB at San Jose State University, targeting aerospace engineering first year students and transfer students with no programming experience.
SpartanAI: Elevating Course Design with Faculty and Student-Centric AI Agent
SpartanAI integrates advanced AI technology with Quality Matters (QM) principles to empower faculty and students in collaboratively enhancing course design, fostering innovative, high-quality, and impactful learning experiences