Launching an AI-Powered Online Learning Community for Student Engagement and Support in Biology

Students who need academic support often struggle with isolation and avoid seeking help, leading to poor academic performance and low retention rates. To address these challenges, UNC Charlotte is piloting InScribe, an online learning community that leverages the power of community and artificial intelligence to connect students to the resources and people they need to succeed within their course. In this session, we will discuss our experience designing, implementing, and evaluating the program and share our findings and best practices. During the session, we will cover the key components of the learning community program, including its goals, structure, and activities. We will share our strategies for recruiting and selecting faculty participants, as well as the resources and support provided to participants to redesign their course to effectively integrate an online learning community. We will also discuss the impact of the pilot program on peer-to-peer engagement, academic performance, and student sense of belonging. Additionally, we will share our insights on the challenges and opportunities of launching InScribe, including the faculty workload and the need for institutional support.