Assessment at the Edge Speaker Series
Rethinking How We Measure Learning
ABOUT THE SERIES
Assessment at the Edge is the signature speaker series of UF’s university-wide Retooling Assessment campaign. Across the year, distinguished national scholars and University of Florida faculty take the stage to explore how we design, deliver, and rethink assessment and how we make learning visible in a changing landscape.
Every talk is open to all faculty. Registration is required for each session, allowing you to choose the talks that align with your interests and schedule. Most talks are offered in person, with select sessions available online, and each is recorded and paired with a candid intellectual exchange you can watch at any time.
FEATURED: START WITH THE CONVERSATION
Before the series begins, listen to our NPR conversation on the Retooling Assessment campaign — what it is, why it matters now, and where it’s headed — featuring Hans van Oostrom, Alexandra Bitton-Bailey, and Ryan Yang.
October 27, 2026 — Series Opener, at AI Days
C. Edward “Eddie” Watson, Ph.D.
Vice President for Digital Innovation, AAC&U; founding director of its Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum; co-author of Teaching with AI.
Drawing from the second edition of the book, Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025), Dr. Watson will detail the challenges and opportunities that have emerged for higher education, especially in terms of pedagogical practice, assessment approaches, and student learning. A key focus will be on how faculty can move from assignment and assessment strategies that are increasingly stressed by AI toward practices designed more intentionally to promote learning within this new era. Participants will consider how AI challenges conventional approaches to grading, academic integrity, authorship, and evidence of learning, while also creating new possibilities for authentic assessment, formative feedback, reflection, iteration, and visible demonstrations of student thinking.
Presenter Bio
C. Edward Watson, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Digital Innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). He is also the founding director of AAC&U’s Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Prior to joining AAC&U, Dr. Watson was the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia (UGA). He continues to serve as a Fellow in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at UGA and recently stepped down after more than a decade as the Executive Editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. His most recent publications are the second edition of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025), Leading Through Disruption: Higher Education Executives Assess AI’s Impacts on Teaching and Learning (AAC&U, 2025), and the Student Guide to AI (Elon University & AAC&U, 2025). Dr. Watson been quoted in the New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Campus Technology, EdSurge, Newsweek, U.S. News, EdTech, Consumer Reports, UK Financial Times, and University Business Magazine and by the AP, CNN and NPR regarding current teaching and learning issues and trends in higher education. Described as a digital learning pioneer, Dr. Watson was recognized by EdTech Magazine as one of the top 25 higher education influencers to follow in 2026.
Register here to attend AI Days.
January 19, 2027
Amber N. Yoo, D.B.A.
Generative-AI educator and consultant; faculty in the College of Business Administration at CSU San Marcos and chair of its GenAI Task Force — and a University of Florida doctoral alumna.
Topic to be announced.
February 16, 2027
Seyedahmad (Ahmad) Rahimi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Educational Technology in UF’s School of Teaching and Learning; director of the Creative Learning through AI and Stealth Assessment in STEM (CLASS) Lab.
Topic to be announced.
More speakers coming soon!