As generative AI becomes embedded in students’ everyday workflows, instructors are challenged to decide not whether AI belongs in the classroom, but how it should be positioned within learning itself. This session presents an instructional design approach that integrates a TA-like AI assistant directly alongside course materials to harness the benefits of AI while mitigating common concerns around misuse and shallow engagement.Rather than treating AI as an external tool students access independently, the model places AI support within readings, practice activities, and capstone preparation. This design leverages AI’s strengths for clarification, iteration, and reflection, while encouraging students to engage with a trusted, course-aligned assistant that reinforces instructional intent. The result is not simply AI adoption, but a restructuring of where and how AI supports learning.The presentation focuses on design decisions instructors can apply across disciplines and modalities to increase learning touchpoints, reinforce repetition, and guide productive AI use without banning tools or relying on enforcement. Participants will leave with practical ideas for integrating AI in ways that are both pedagogically intentional and adaptable to their own teaching contexts.
