A $10 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences was awarded to the University of Georgia’s GenAI center, a research and development space aimed at establishing best practices for generative artificial intelligence use in middle school science classrooms.
In collaboration with Vanderbilt University, Educational Testing Service, and Albany State University, The National Center on Generative AI for Uplifting STEM+C Education (GENIUS Center) will host a research team dedicated to determining what features to incorporate into a GenAI learning agent.
Led by UGA associate professor Xiaoming Zhai, the team will conduct studies at middle schools in both urban and rural settings across five states to evaluate the current uses of AI in classrooms. Findings will inform the development of a tool, called GenAgent, and conclude with a pilot test of GenAgent in middle school science classrooms.
GenAgent will utilize audio, text, and visual inputs to provide immediate feedback and support to students and teachers. The tool will be usable in a variety of situations, such as helping teachers with creating learning scenarios and students with learning how to analyze science data.
“We hope that students and teachers will take AI as a kind of accompaniment in the classroom settings, and this can really help kids to develop their science competence for their future career,” Zhai said.
Along with Zhai, UGA faculty involved in the project include Yizhu Gao, Lehong Shi, and Ehsan Latif in the College of Education; Tianming Liu and Ninghao Liu in the School of Computing; and Xianqiao Wang in the College of Engineering.
