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The development of AI-powered education tools and their application will continue at Carolina, thanks to renewal of National Science Foundation grant.
Computer science research at Carolina aimed at improving STEM learning through better artificial intelligence educational tools has received additional financial support to support its development.
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill are part of a coalition of universities providing expertise for a National Science Foundation institute established to engage K-12 students and improve techniques for teaching science, technology, engineering and math.
The NSF last week renewed the previous five-year, $20 million award for its AI Institute for Engaged Learning at NC State University. Known as the EngageAI Institute, it draws on the expertise of AI and education researchers there and at UNC-Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, Indiana University and the nonprofit organization Digital Promise.
The renewal carries EngageAI through 2031, with an additional $20 million in support. Carolina’s contribution has been spearheaded by Mohit Bansal, the John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in Computer Science and the lead co-principal investigator at the University. Bansal oversees the institute’s core AI research. Fellow computer science faculty members Xiaoming Liu, distinguished professor, and Roni Sengupta, assistant professor, also serve as researchers on the team.
“The National Science Foundation’s continued support for the EngageAI Institute is a strong recognition of work that aligns perfectly with Carolina’s priorities for the future,” said Magnus Egerstedt, executive vice chancellor and provost. “As artificial intelligence reshapes nearly every field, universities have a responsibility to connect technological innovation with human purpose. This work is helping students learn, helping teachers teach and opening new possibilities for STEM education. I’m proud and excited to see Carolina researchers contributing to such important and collaborative work.”
Since its 2021 launch, the institute has built a suite of narrative-centered learning environments, run classroom studies on how AI supports students learning together and developed new tools for analyzing collaborative learning and for creating engaging learning experiences for K-12 students. That includes EngageVP, a framework the Carolina team created that uses AI to make sense of video, speech and gesture data captured when students solve problems in groups.
Mohit Bansal
This next phase of research will focus on building AI-powered lessons that adjust to each student, remember their progress throughout the school year and provide teachers with easier ways to create learning experiences in their classrooms via 3D storytelling world models.. The foundational research, led by Carolina researchers, seeks to make engaging, individualized STEM instruction available to more students.
“Over the past five years, we have worked with our partners to build the core AI technologies that power EngageAI’s learning environments and study how they can help students learn,” Bansal said. “In this next phase, we will develop AI that can adapt to each student’s needs and provide increasingly personalized support over time. We are excited to build on this important work and develop tools that can help teachers create more engaging learning experiences and improve STEM education for K-12 students.”
Carolina’s work with the EngageAI Institute showcases its research strengths both in applying AI as a tool across disciplines and in studying AI methods and reliability so that it can be used for positive societal impact.
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