For six months, from January to June 2024, I worked on a project with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) as part of their Fellows Program. The project started as an earnest, genuine extension of work that I was already doing for multiple years in the context of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Higher Education. But while most of my focuses and concerns over the years has been where GenAI is showing up in higher ed, it never specifically looked at workforce development, workforce education, or changes in the workforce more generally.

Through a series of proposals and expanded visioning around GenAI’s impact on the workforce, I developed a two-quarter project where I immersed myself in conversations and external research. I should note that much of the conversation at Spokane Community College in Fall of 2023 was familiar. At most references of the workforce implications could be summarized as “students’ jobs will be impacted” and “this technology will change future jobs.” But beyond these brief statements, little was explored and much was left to be desired. I wanted to explore, dive deeper, and see what, if anything, was being discussed at length within my college and beyond.

The project description that emerged following approval from the Teaching and Learning Center’s initial approval was relatively brief and concise:

This project concerns Artificial Intelligence’s impact on workforce education at SCC. Specifically, I am interested in learning about where GenAI tools are being used in the workforce, in jobs that our students will hold, and how these might get taught in our academic programs. As a result, I am also learning about the academic programs offered at the college, who runs those programs, and who within those programs are passionate about and/or interested in discussing AI in their contexts.

This proposal will ideally last for two quarters, and open more room for research (through other avenues) after the two quarters are complete..

(January 10, 2024)​

The plan was relatively simple on the surface: identify the workforce programs at the college, have conversations with faculty in these programs, and keep an eye on research being published in academic journals and popular sources on a regular basis. Ultimately this project evolved to include this Pressbooks publication, inclusive of takeaways, recommendations, and the bibliography. A two-quarter project with dozens of hours of direct and indirect work was a fantastic opportunity, and I am grateful that I explored all of this. And yet it wasn’t without its issues, as I explore on the following pages. Challenges abound with any project, research-oriented or otherwise. I hope readers will find the difficulties informative and inspiring for their own ideas and practices.

What is captured here shows the fruits of the labor, but does not show the labor itself. On the back end, behind the scenes, a librarian struggled with navigating the college structures and forging new relationships with faculty in countless programs. I found myself grinding through automated delivery of sources from over 100 search engine alerts from Google and the college’s library system. Every week, I had to dive deep, but much of the time I learned little to nothing new. Even further, the conversations I had, while valuable, often led to dead-ends and lots of confusion and uncertainty, which derailed my morale and inspiration. But still I persisted, and over time became comfortable with the issues, the concerns, and published work.