AI + TbC = Completing the Circle
I just spoke at a conference where I preached the need for formative assessment in the classroom. We need this to be able to make adjustments in instruction when we still have the power to make a change in a students learning. But, so often we wait for summative assessments, bulldozing through content and giving student what we “think” they need rather than what we “know” they need based on data. I get to boast the advantages of having TEKSbank Classroom and its 100,000 assessment items to simplify this process. And, that’s good. But, but not great.
We don’t complete the circle. We can easily be another data point in a black hole of data points that do nothing more than make a statement, not illicit action. There are a lot of reasons for that, some of which are teachers’ ever-dwindling bandwidth and the lack of teachers… but that discussion is for another post. If we really want to live up to our goal of being the edTech that “Gives teachers the gift of time and mean(s) it”, then we have to close the loop and not arbitrarily.
Artificial intelligence could enhance the TbC platform by continuing with the student after the assessment with AI powered intervention. Not only making predictions about the most aligned intervention resources to the students misconception but also collecting trace data on how a learner responds to types of interventions. Combining the right content with the custom delivery, suited for the learner could be a game changer for TbC. content experts and assessment design experts would need to clearly define the objectives of the AI system, like improving learning outcomes, increasing the efficacy of interventions, and enhancing the overall learning intervention experience. We would need to pinpoint the data needing to be collected from learners’ interactions with TEKSbank Classroom. We would then need to develop the forecasting algorithm that will use the collected trace data to predict effective intervention resources.
We are losing teachers left and right. They are being replaced by warm bodies who have been rushed through their teacher training. By my own observation, these teachers are barely treading water to deliver tier one instruction, much less intervention, and even lesser custom learner appropriate intervention. And, while we have to be ever grateful for the willing to take on the educational landscape we face today, they truly are amazing and it is generally not their fault they arrive to the classroom with little to no experience, it is our students who take the fall in the end.
