Political science professors Sona Golder and Chris Zorn are among the Penn State faculty members receiving grants from Penn State’s AI Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning to explore innovative uses of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. Funded through the Office of the Provost, the grants will support faculty projects throughout the 2026–27 academic year.
Sona Golder, professor of political science, received a microgrant for her project, “Adapting AI to Increase Student Engagement.” The project uses AI to design and build interactive learning tools that give students new ways to engage with the concepts, evidence, and analytical models they encounter in political science courses. Through these activities, students practice evaluating arguments and solving game-theoretic models, investigate empirical patterns in political behavior, and work through historically grounded scenarios.
Chris Zorn, professor of political science and affiliate professor of information sciences and technology, received a microgrant for his project, “Assessing the Impact of Course-Based Innovation on AI Literacy in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.” This study assesses the impact of a recently-developed Social Data Analytics (SODA) course on students’ literacy around artificial intelligence (AI). Using a validated, performance-based measure of AI literacy, the study compares improvements in AI literacy among enrollees to a control group of students not enrolled. It is the first effort in the College of the Liberal Arts to assess the impact of newly-developed AI-centered course offerings on students understanding of artificial intelligence in society.