The Teaching Professor Conference on
AI in Education
Live Online: December 2–3, 2025 | On-Demand: through March 6, 2026
Plenary Sessions
Opening Plenary 10:00-11:00 AM CT, Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Leaning Into the Unknown: Teaching for a Workforce Powered by AI
Dr. Denise Turley
AI is transforming the workforce faster than education can keep up. As intelligent agents automate tasks and redefine job roles, students are entering a world where adaptability, ethical decision-making, and collaboration with AI are essential. In this plenary session, Dr. Denise Turley explores how educators can shift from reactive adjustments to proactive preparation—reframing their role as guides in an unpredictable, AI-powered future.
With an eye toward both opportunity and responsibility, Dr. Turley will examine how AI is reshaping work, what this means for course and career readiness, and why digital safety, discernment, and entrepreneurial thinking must be infused across disciplines. She’ll share examples of emerging AI capabilities, including automation tools and agents, and discuss how we can use them to equip students to lead with agency and resilience. The future is uncertain—but the educator’s role has never been more vital.
Dr. Denise Turley
An educator, speaker, and tech executive who helps educators and institutions navigate AI with clarity, care, and purpose. She brings inclusive and responsible AI to life in her classrooms and keynotes, blending strategy with storytelling to spark action. As the creator of the CARE and NIYA frameworks, she has trained hundreds of faculty and leaders to adopt AI in meaningful, equitable ways. A published author and frequent global speaker, Dr. Turley empowers others to redesign learning and lead transformation in an AI-infused world.
Closing Plenary 2:30-3:30 PM CT, Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Developing Critical Thinking by Teaching with AI
Michelle Kassorla, PhD
This plenary takes on one of the most common fears circulating among educators today: that artificial intelligence will erode students’ critical thinking skills. Drawing on real classroom applications where AI has been integrated for more than two years, Michelle Kassorla offers compelling evidence that tells a very different story. Kassorla asks the central question: What are the secrets to developing students’ critical thinking skills in the Age of AI? Then, with equal parts experience, data, and storytelling—this plenary session introduces the powerful tools and techniques used to transform AI into a powerful ally for deeper learning in the higher education classroom.
Michelle Kassorla, PhD
An Associate Professor at Georgia State University, Perimeter College, with more than 30 years of experience teaching English and Composition. She has been teaching with AI in her Composition I and II courses, integrating AI into all assignments since fall 2023. She keynoted the Teaching and Learning with AI Conference at the University of Central Florida in May 2025, served on the the AI Expert Panel for EDUCAUSE, and led their AI Literacy committee for Higher Education. A recipient of a Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education fellowship, she has published “Teaching with GAI in Mind” and “AI Literacy in Teaching and Learning: A Durable Framework for Higher Education” in the EDUCAUSE Review. She’s a Co-Principal Investigator in the “Perceptions of AI” study at GSU. She shares her insights on LinkedIn and her blog, “Academic Platypus.” As a mother of eight boys, she’s continually inspired to excel.