AI Improves Student Learning and Engagement

In our paper on online education, Tyler and I wrote:

One model of a future course is a super-textbook: lectures, exercises, quizzes, and grading all available on a tablet with artificial intelligence routines guiding students to lectures and exercises designed to address that student’s deficits and with human intelligence—tutors—on call on an as-needed basis, possibly for extra marginal fees.

We were wrong only in thinking that human tutors would be wanted and needed. Toda,y it is clear that AI tutors will be available 24-7 for all students. Online education was already at least as good on average as in-class education for large classes like Physics and Economics 101 and much cheaper. Combined with AI tutors who can offer individualized instruction and encouragement (!) the online-AI model looks better.

A study at Harvard compared physics students who worked with an AI tutor against a human-led, active learning classroom. Note that the AI was paired not against boring lectures but against an active learning classroom with an experienced and motivated teacher.

Not only did the AI tutor seem to help students learn more material, the students also self-reported significantly more engagement and motivation to learn when working with AI.

“It was shocking, and super exciting,” Miller said, considering that PS2 is already “very, very well taught.”

“They’ve been doing this for a long time, and there have been many iterations of this specific research-based pedagogy. It’s a very tight operation,” Miller added.

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