Cal State Fullerton faculty members who specialize in such areas as reading education, mathematics and history are leading research projects supported by the California State University system’s first Artificial Intelligence Educational Innovations Challenge.
CSUF’s funded projects include:
Cultivating a New Culture of Thinking, Learning and Being in the AI-Driven 21st Century
Literacy and reading education faculty members Madeleine Mejia and Laura Keisler will reimagine a general education course on critical reading, thinking and literacy. The redesigned course will empower students to analyze AI-generated content and develop essential skills for navigating the current and complex information landscape. Through this project, students will challenge bias, refine their ideas and become reflective learners prepared to thrive in both civic life and an AI-driven future.
LIFT: Learning with AI, Implementing Change, Fostering Equity, Transforming Teaching
STEM learning is the focus of this project led by mathematics faculty member Matheus Guerrero. Faculty members teaching chemistry and biochemistry, mathematics and geological sciences will work with students on a project designing AI-enhanced assignments that are ethically grounded, responsive to students’ needs and attuned to the realities of contemporary STEM learning. Each AI-infused activity will be tested through a randomized controlled trial, allowing the researchers to compare AI and non-AI teaching strategies.
Past, Present, and Future: Intentional and Ethical Activation of AI in the Teaching of U.S. History Survey Courses
Historians are trained to question and acknowledge their many sources, recognize bias, foster empathy, respect multiple individual voices, tell engaging stories and take a stance. This project, led by history professor Allison Varzally, will teach AI literacy that helps students enhance their learning and further develop their skills as readers, writers and thinkers of history. The project’s goal is for students to appreciate and participate in the process of creating ideas.
The 63 winning projects were selected from more than 400 proposals representing over 750 CSU faculty members. These projects were selected for their ability to enable transformative teaching methods, foster groundbreaking research and address key concerns about AI adoption within the academic environment.
The CSU Chancellor’s Office will award a total of $3 million to fund the winning proposals. Each CSU campus has at least two projects. These projects launched in June 2025 and will continue through June 2026.
The full list of funded projects representing the academic areas of business, engineering, ethnic studies, history, health sciences, teacher preparation, scholarly writing, journalism and theatre arts is on the CSU’s AI Commons website.