Multidisciplinary Collaboration for the Integration of AI in Slavic Languages and Literatures: The Learning Lab Model

The Learning Lab at Harvard University's Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning employs graduate students as Media and Design Fellows (MDFs) to support innovative pedagogy in their departments. Over the last few years and in its Summer of AI, the Learning Lab has explored AI and its applications and implications in education. As such, the Lab, its staff, and its MDFs have developed and run well-structured, intellectually rigorous learning opportunities for many departments. For the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the Learning Lab used AI in language and literature workshops. This paper presents a few case studies of these integrations, from classes on Soviet film, ballet, Russian and Polish language, poetry, and prose. It focuses on the role of AI, including the research behind the workshops, the scaffolding and other design, the process, the outcomes and student experiences, implications, and potential areas for improvement. Finally, the article discusses the use of AI in the collaborative pedagogical structure. The experience illustrates how expertise in Slavic Languages and Literatures and its methodologies can help the broader study of AI and the work done in the field of pedagogy, how expertise in AI and pedagogy can benefit the work done in Slavic, and how AI can help mediate and enhance collaboration between the fields. While integrating AI into the classroom comes with many possible concerns, integrating it into collaboration among professionals across languages to support work within the classroom has been especially rewarding and is particularly promising.