COB Management Lecturer Secures $30,000 Grant

COB Lecturer Secures $30,000 Grant to Advance AI Literacy in International Business Education

Claudia Barrulas Yefremian, lecturer in the Department of Management/HRM, has been awarded a $30,000 grant through the Artificial Intelligence Educational Innovations Challenge (AIEIC). The project, AI-Powered Assignments for Critical and Strategic Thinking in International Business Education, proposes to increase AI literacy among students by integrating AI instructional materials into international business courses. Barrulas Yefremian is developing a suite of current, relevant, engaging, and scalable learning activities, assignments, and other resources that instructors can use to enhance learning and stimulate student engagement in the classroom. This project aims to create innovative classroom applications of AI that go beyond passive content generation, ensuring that AI tools serve as catalysts for deeper analytical engagement rather than just a substitute used to circumvent learning. 

All the instructional materials are developed using the transparent assignment template from Mary-Ann Winkelmes and informed by the Research Libraries Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence to support student performance and an inclusive learning environment. The adoption of this template serves several purposes. On the one hand, it promotes transparency, comprehension, and equity for all the students. On the other hand, it helps standardize the materials to facilitate scalability and faculty adoption. Further, the materials are designed using Bloom’s Taxonomy for easy integration into course curricula and include step-by-step instructions and evaluation rubrics to ensure AI tools strengthen critical thinking and communication skills. Furthermore, all the instructional materials explicitly embed AI literacy competencies, such as improving student learning in critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and responsible AI usage. The resources are grouped in modules to so that all the instructional materials can be easily adapted and replicated within various business courses and across the CSU system. Moreover, these materials are designed to support different teaching modalities (i.e., in-person, hybrid, or entirely online).

The project aims to cultivate a learning environment that equips students and faculty to navigate an increasingly AI-driven global marketplace. Barrulas Yefremian argues that by systematically integrating AI tools in instruction, students will gain valuable experience in interpreting and leveraging AI-generated insights both ethically and strategically. There are other gains in enhancing student AI literacy in the classroom. By showing and guiding students how to efficiently use AI tools, they will expand their AI literacy and enhance their knowledge. In addition, this will increase student preparedness for global business careers. Finally, promoting a comprehensive understanding of ethical AI usage and its implications positions students to responsibly engage with technologies shaping global economic and cultural landscapes. In an international business context, strengthening students’ AI literacy is essential to prepare them for their future careers.

Barrulas Yefremian is currently accepting applications for three student assistant positions to help her develop this project. All CSULB students are welcome to apply. The project runs until Spring 2026.

For more information, please contact Claudia Barrulas Yefremian at cl.barrulasyefremian@csulb.edu. 

 

Claudia Barrulas Yefremian Lecturer Management COB