Computer science students at Flagstaff Academy are working with researchers from the National AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming, or iSAT. Their mission is to study how students work collaboratively and use that data to get students to “buy into” their education.
The iSAT researchers, from the University of Colorado — Boulder, developed a series of collaborative curriculum units, during which students develop, use and critique AI systems. The iSAT group collected audio and visual data of Flagstaff students working through these units. The data was used to train iSAT’s AI Partner CoBi, or Community Builder. CoBi is designed to assist teachers in collaborative learning activities.
“The ultimate goal is to help uplift student contributions and help them collaborate towards a version of schooling that they buy into,” a news release from Flagstaff Academy stated.
The project will take place over five years and is an investment of more than $220 million, making it the National Science Foundation’s most significant federal investment in AI research.
Terri Reh, computer science teacher at Flagstaff Academy, was selected in 2021 by the St. Vrain Valley School District to participate in the program. She guides her students as they learn the CoBi system. Students are able to program and wire innovative sensors, become data producers and frame coding and engineering in context of problems that matter to them, the news release states.
“This project is allowing our students to engage in relevant, powerful learning,” Reh said. “It is gratifying to watch them recognize what is possible in their world.”
“Students were really excited to engage with the tools we made to support and uplift their collaborations,” said CU Research Scientist Dr. Jeffrey Bush. “We found students playing with CoBi, saying nice things to it to see how it would respond. This reinforced positive elements of how to collaborate and work with others.”
