When artificial intelligence (AI) first emerged in higher education conversations, much of the focus was on its potential to disrupt traditional assessment. Concerns about plagiarism, essay-writing bots and academic integrity dominated faculty discussions.
But as a business professor teaching at a community college, I saw an opportunity: what if AI could be a partner in designing more interactive and authentic learning activities for students?
Over the past year, I have integrated AI into my instructional design process, using it as a creative collaborator to build simulations, case studies and practice opportunities that deepen student learning. Far from replacing my role as an instructor, AI has become a powerful tool that allows me to scale the kinds of interactive experiences I once could only dream about developing within my time constraints.
AI-enhanced mock interviews
One of the first projects I piloted was a mock interview activity on conflict resolution. In business courses, students often read about workplace conflict or watch role-play videos, but they rarely have the chance to practice articulating their own approaches in a dynamic environment. I wanted to change that.
Using AI, I engineered a detailed prompt that students could copy into a conversational AI tool. The prompt trains the AI to act as an interviewer, asking students scenario-based questions about workplace conflict, based on a job title and description they provide with the prompt. Students are prompted to respond as if they were in a real interview, drawing on course concepts and personal reasoning. Even more, the AI is able to ask adaptive questions based on student answers, creating a personalized learning experience for each student.
The AI doesn’t stop at surface-level questions. Because of the way the prompt is designed, it pushes students to elaborate, asking follow-up questions like: “Can you give me a specific example of how you would de-escalate that situation?” or “Why do you think your approach would be effective in maintaining team morale?”
This activity creates an environment where students are not only tested on their knowledge but also on their ability to communicate clearly, think critically and reflect on their own problem-solving style. Many students have shared that they feel more confident going into real-world interviews after practicing with the AI, especially because they had to articulate responses on the spot.
Interactive case studies
Building on that success, I began designing AI-supported case studies that challenge students to step into the shoes of business leaders for my management course. Traditional case studies often present a static set of facts and ask students to analyze them. With AI, I saw an opportunity to create something more immersive.
In one project, I built an elaborate case study into an interactive RISE 360 module. Students enter the case study as consultants hired to assess the health of a fictional organization. The module provides them with layers of information: worker surveys, performance metrics, financial data and even “interviews” with AI-generated employee personas.
Their task is to sift through the data, identify organizational health issues and propose evidence-based solutions. The assignment culminates in a presentation where students deliver their findings and recommendations, mirroring the work of real consultants.
This activity requires students to engage in multiple skill areas:
- Critical-thinking to evaluate and aggregate data from different sources.
- Communication to explain their reasoning in a professional presentation.
- Problem-solving to prioritize issues and design practical solutions that could realistically improve organizational health.
What makes these case studies so effective is the interactivity. Instead of passively reading a scenario, students navigate a realistic, evolving situation, an experience that prepares them for the ambiguity and complexity of the workplace.
AI as a teaching partner
In both of these examples, AI played a behind-the-scenes role. I use it not to deliver content directly to students, but to generate frameworks, prompts and role-play scenarios that I then refine based on my own professional expertise, align to course objectives and integrate into my learning management system. AI helps me scale up creativity, saving me hours of time in activity design while giving me a starting point to craft more polished, student-centered experiences.
Of course, there are challenges. It takes careful prompt engineering to ensure the AI asks meaningful questions or produces reliable case details. I always review and adapt AI outputs before bringing them into the classroom, and I emphasize to students that AI is a tool, not an authority.
Impact on students
The results have been encouraging. Students who participated in the mock interviews reported feeling more prepared to talk about their soft skills in professional contexts. Those who worked through the interactive case studies told me they valued the realism of the task and the opportunity to practice integrating theory with practical decision-making.
These activities also help bridge the gap between academic learning outcomes and workforce readiness skills, a critical goal for community colleges. Employers consistently emphasize the importance of communication, problem-solving and adaptability. By using AI to simulate these situations, I can give students authentic practice in the very skills that will set them apart in the job market.
Looking ahead
As faculty, we often juggle heavy teaching loads, administrative duties and the desire to innovate. AI does not eliminate that balancing act, but it gives us new leverage. With AI as a creative partner, I can design interactive, personalized and rigorous activities that would have been too time-intensive to build alone.
For community colleges, where students come from diverse backgrounds and seek practical, career-relevant skills, this kind of innovation can be transformative. The question is no longer whether AI will shape education, but how we will use it to enhance, not replace, the human elements of teaching and learning, and prepare learners for workplace technology.
For me, the answer lies in projects like these as tools that use AI not as a shortcut, but as a catalyst for deeper engagement, authentic assessment, and real-world readiness.
