Search Mastery Speaker Series: “Same Class, New Approach: Reimagining GenAI in Writing Assessments”
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Zoom
Contact: Mary Ann Francis
About:
This talk will tell the story of the evolution in the speakers’ thinking about generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) in the university classroom, using a general education class of 100 students at the University of Maryland (UMD) as a case study. Their familiarity with AI, coupled with the cautionary tale of their recent experience in the classroom, has led them to reimagine how instructors might conduct learning assessments that embrace, rather than prohibit, the use of ChatGPT and similar tools for the purpose of advancing critical thinking. They will discuss their recent published piece in Information Matters (external link, opens in a new tab), which offered a redesigned writing protocol where students evaluate, challenge, and extend AI-generated responses rather than merely using them to replace their own online searches and creative work.
Speaker Bios:
Jason R. Baron
Professor Baron focuses his teaching and research on the application of AI to improving records preservation and access policies. During his 33 years in government service, he served as the first appointed director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration, and before that as a trial attorney and senior counsel at the Justice Department. In those capacities, Mr. Baron acted as lead counsel on landmark lawsuits involving the preservation of White House email and played a leading role in improving federal electronic recordkeeping policies. Mr. Baron teaches the Gen Ed course INST 153, “Records Scandals and Data Vandals: Public and Private Controversies Ripped from the Headlines.”
Elizabeth Pineo
Elizabeth Pineo (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, where her research explores the intersections of disability, music, and archives. In particular, she is interested in the accessibility of music archival materials and websites for Disabled users and representations of Disabled individuals within music collections. Elizabeth holds an M.L.I.S., also from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. in Music from Dickinson College. In addition to her academic pursuits, she is an Associate Editor for Including Disability. For the past three years, Elizabeth has been a teaching assistant for INST153.
Speaker(s): Jason R. Baron, Professor of the Practice, College of Information; Elizabeth A. Pineo, Ph.D. Candidate, College of Information