{"id":1305,"date":"2026-04-30T15:03:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/literacy-research-centre\/?page_id=1305"},"modified":"2026-10-01T10:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:48:00","slug":"ai-and-literacy-symposium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/literacy-research-centre\/ai-and-literacy-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and Literacy Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Symposium for the Study of Generative AI and Literacy<\/h1>\n

22 October, 2026, 1pm-5pm (BST); 8am-12pm (EDT)<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hosted By:<\/strong> The Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy, University of Toronto Canada and the Lancaster Literacy Research Centre, Lancaster University, UK<\/p>\n

Organisers:<\/strong> Prof. Chris Eaton (Toronto), Prof. Julia Gillen & Prof. Uta Papen (Lancaster)<\/p>\n

With Discussant:<\/strong> Prof. Kevin Leander \u2013 Vanderbilt University; University of Southern Denmark<\/p>\n

Registration link<\/a><\/h2>\n

Presentation Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
EDT<\/th>\nBST<\/th>\nItem<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
8:00\u20138:10am<\/strong><\/td>\n1:00\u20131:10pm<\/strong><\/td>\nWelcome and introduction<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Panel 1<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:10\u20138:25am<\/td>\n1:10\u20131:25pm<\/td>\nBiljana Naumoska-Sarakinska & Aneta Naumoska (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) \u2014 “AI Literacy as Academic Literacy: EFL Writing and Student Agency in North Macedonia”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:25\u20138:30am<\/td>\n1:25\u20131:30pm<\/td>\nTransition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:30\u20138:45am<\/td>\n1:30\u20131:45pm<\/td>\nAnn-Marie Eriksson (University of Gothenburg) \u2014 “The message structure of prompt-and-response activities”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:45\u20138:50am<\/td>\n1:45\u20131:50pm<\/td>\nTransition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:50\u20139:05am<\/td>\n1:50\u20132:05pm<\/td>\nLaura Taylor (University of Toronto Mississauga) \u2014 “Changing First-Year Writing Patterns in AI-Influenced Contexts: Comparing Diagnostic Writing from 2022\u20132023 and 2026”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:05\u20139:15am<\/td>\n2:05\u20132:15pm<\/td>\nQ&A, Panel 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:15\u20139:20am<\/td>\n2:15\u20132:20pm<\/td>\nBreak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Panel 2<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:20\u20139:35am<\/td>\n2:20\u20132:35pm<\/td>\nTetyana M\u00fcller-Lyaskovets, Meni Syrou & Olena Horner (TU Dortmund; University of Minnesota) \u2014 “On the path to literacy: Updating writing skills pedagogy through agency in AI-assisted writing”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:35\u20139:40am<\/td>\n2:35\u20132:40pm<\/td>\nTransition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:40\u20139:55am<\/td>\n2:40\u20132:55pm<\/td>\nKathy Hibbert (Western University) \u2014 “The Virtue of Not Knowing: AI Literacy, Uncertainty, and Judgment”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:55\u201310:00am<\/td>\n2:55\u20133:00pm<\/td>\nTransition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:00\u201310:15am<\/td>\n3:00\u20133:15pm<\/td>\nWen Wen & Xuexue Yang (SUNY Oneonta) \u2014 “Why Write If AI Can Write? Exploring In-service Teachers’ Redesign of Writing Pedagogy in the Age of Generative AI”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:15\u201310:25am<\/td>\n3:15\u20133:25pm<\/td>\nQ&A, Panel 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:25\u201310:30am<\/td>\n3:25\u20133:30pm<\/td>\nBreak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Panel 3<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:30\u201310:45am<\/td>\n3:30\u20133:45pm<\/td>\nEunhee Buettner & Bong-gi Sohn (University of Winnipeg) \u2014 “Rethinking AI Literacy: Toward L2 AI Literacy for Plurilingual Students”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:45\u201310:50am<\/td>\n3:45\u20133:50pm<\/td>\nTransition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:50\u201311:05am<\/td>\n3:50\u20134:05pm<\/td>\nRachel Horst (University of British Columbia) \u2014 “The Future Will Not Be Retrieved: Epistemic Agency and Entangled AI Literacy”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:05\u201311:15am<\/td>\n4:05\u20134:15pm<\/td>\nQ&A, Panel 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:15\u201311:20am<\/td>\n4:15\u20134:20pm<\/td>\nBreak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:20\u201311:55am<\/td>\n4:20\u20134:55pm<\/td>\nDiscussant \u2014 Kevin Leander<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:55am\u201312:00pm<\/td>\n4:55\u20135:00pm<\/td>\nConcluding remark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

General introduction<\/h2>\n

\u201cAI Literacy\u201d has become a popular topic for research as literacy teachers in upper secondary and undergraduate contexts grapple with the implications of generative AI.\u00a0 While some important scholarship has helped to form early understandings of what AI Literacy is and what it means for pedagogies, it represents the beginning of a much larger conversation.<\/p>\n

Early discussions have largely emerged independent of each other as literacy scholars have responded to generative AI\u2019s influence in their local contexts. From these foundations have emerged early frameworks for AI in education and literacy (e.g., Allen & Kendeou, 2024; Beck & Levine, 2024; Ng et al., 2021; Su & Yang, 2023), as well as some early discussions about what AI Literacy means and how it connects to pedagogies (e.g., Almatrafi et al., 2024; Anders & Dux Speltz, 2025; Davis et al., 2026; Kalantzis & Cope, 2025; McPhee & Jerowsky, 2025). There have also been applications of different understandings of literacy practices to make sense of generative AI in pedagogies (e.g., Burris & Leander, 2024; Jensen & Jensen, 2025; Wang & Wang, 2025).<\/p>\n

This virtual symposium aims to take the next step in understanding literacies and literacy practices that account for generative AI\u2019s influence in secondary and undergraduate contexts. The symposium invites proposals that will contribute data- and theory-informed conversations that build on related literacy traditions<\/p>\n

(e.g., New Literacy Studies, Academic Literacies, Multiliteracies, etc.). Bringing together different understandings of literacy studies will offer a lively, multifaceted discussion that considers what experiences, perspectives, knowledge and pedagogies are needed now that generative AI is a prominent influence in our classrooms.<\/p>\n

Guiding Questions<\/h2>\n

The symposium hopes to stimulate discussions around three questions:<\/p>\n