Date: June 15
Time: 14:00 – 18:00
Place: TBA

Empathy and perspective-gaining are increasingly recognised as essential graduate capabilities for leadership, collaboration, and addressing today’s wicked problems. Yet in many higher education classrooms, opportunities to engage meaningfully with diverse viewpoints are constrained by dominant voices, uneven participation, and shared cultural norms that limit critical examination of assumptions and values (Javaeed et al., 2022).

This workshop introduces a pedagogical approach that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) roleplay tools as structured discussion partners to scaffold perspective recognition and empathic reasoning. The approach is based on an ongoing quasi-experimental study at Zayed University that examines whether interaction with an AI discussion bot enhances students’ ability to recognise alternative viewpoints and demonstrate empathic concern, compared with traditional discussion formats. The design draws on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) framework to conceptualise empathy as both a cognitive and affective process.

The workshop invites participants to experience the AI-supported activity, critically analyse how different discussion structures shape reasoning and perspective visibility, and collaboratively redesign the activity for their own disciplinary, cultural, and institutional contexts. Through guided design sprints and ethical reflection, participants will develop practical, adaptable teaching strategies for using AI as a responsible scaffold for empathy and perspective-gaining in higher education.

Objectives

• Examine how structured AI-mediated discussion differs from traditional classroom discussion in fostering empathy and perspective-gaining among higher education students.
• Analyse the potential of AI discussion partners to help students recognise, articulate, and compare viewpoints other than their own.
• Critically reflect on the differential impacts of AI-mediated discussion (e.g., by gender or learner characteristics) and what this means for inclusive teaching practice.
• Design or adapt AI-supported discussion activities suitable for their own disciplinary, cultural, and institutional contexts.

Intended Audience

This workshop is designed for higher education professionals interested in the ethical application of GenAI in teaching and learning:

• Faculty, instructors, and researchers from any discipline
• Educational technologists
• Learning designers
• Researchers studying AI in education
• Faculty interested in soft skills development, leadership education, or active learning

No technical background is required
Expected Number of Participants: 20 (optimal range 15–25 to support interactive group design work).

Agenda

1. Framing the Challenge. Welcome, Introductions, Overview of AI as a structured discussion partner.
2. Experiencing the Activity. Participants engage in a short, scenario-based discussion.
3. Deconstructing the Design. Analysis in small-groups with group work exchanged, output review from different discussions.
4. Whole-Group Synthesis and Shared Insights. Addition of observations to shared boards.
5. Design Sprint: Adaptation adn Collaborative Prototyping. From a simple, structured template, participats redesign the activity for their discipline, students and constraints.
6. Gallery Walk and Feedback. Sharing prototypes and collecting reflections and networking
7. Assessment & Ethics. Explore formative use of empathy/perspective measures and identify safeguards for responsible implementation
8. Synthesis and Takeaway. Key insights and shared design principles, what AI does well and does not replace, opportunities for collaboration, adaptation, or further research, and closing reflections.

Call for papers

This workshop does not require paper submissions for participation. However, we invite participants interested in contributing case studies, activity designs, or evaluation results to submit short papers for a post-workshop digital booklet or collaborative publication. We welcome short case studies, activity designs, or reflective essays related to the workshop theme, including:

• Case studies of using AI to scaffold dialogue, debate, or role-play in any discipline.
• Design frameworks or prompts for AI-mediated discussions targeting soft skills.
• Reflections on ethical, cultural, or assessment challenges in this domain.
• Evaluation results or student feedback on similar interventions.

Workshop Scope

The workshop explores the use of AI as a structured discussion partner to support empathy, perspective recognition, and reflective reasoning in higher education. It focuses on pedagogical design, classroom implementation, ethical practice, and formative assessment of soft skills.

Topics of interest

Submissions may address (but are not limited to):

• AI-mediated role play or discussion activities
• Teaching empathy, perspective-gaining, or ethical reasoning
• Designing for inclusive and dialogic classrooms
• Student engagement and affective learning outcomes
• Ethical and cultural considerations in AI use
• Assessment of soft skills and reflective learning
• Case studies of AI-supported learning design
• Interdisciplinary applications of AI in education

Submission Guidelines

• 1,500–2,500 words
• Structured as a practice-based case, design report, or evaluation study
• APA 7th edition
• Include context, activity design, reflection, and implications

Review Process

All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review by the workshop organisers and invited reviewers. Accepted papers will be included in a digital post-workshop booklet and may be invited for further collaborative dissemination. The compiled digital booklet will be shared with all contributors and the broader HEAd community as an open-access resource to foster ongoing discussion and development in this emerging pedagogical area.

Organizers

Elissar Gerges, EdD: Elissar Gerges is an Assistant Professor at Zayed University’s College of Interdisciplinary Studies and a Fellow of Advance HE. She holds a Doctor of Education from Western University and has over a decade of international experience across higher education and K–12 contexts in the UAE, Canada, and the United States. Her work focuses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, active and flipped learning, peer assessment, peer observation of teaching, and ethical and effective uses of AI in education. Her current research examines AI-supported pedagogies that strength.

Bridget Rice, PhD: Bridget Rice is an Assistant Professor in the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Zayed University. She holds a PhD in Management and has taught in higher education in both Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to entering academia, she worked in industry, beginning her career as an analytical chemist before moving into management roles within the Australian Public Sector. Her research focuses on management, particularly the role of values in shaping behavior, and has more recently extended into higher education, where she examines assessment practices, student outcomes, and the responsible use of AI tools in teaching and learning.

References