Dive Brief:
- Schools across the nation are utilizing artificial intelligence bots to teach students how to read. From decoding phonics by sounding out words to guided tutoring, these bots provide 1-to-1 instruction to students and help teachers pinpoint areas for improvement.
- In Baltimore County Public Schools, Amira, an AI-powered cartoon avatar, serves as a reading tutor that walks students through activities and records their sessions so teachers can later watch and assess problem areas. Other AI reading tools like Early Bird, Bamboo Learning and Imagine Learning utilize similar assessment techniques.
- While schools view these AI resources as a way to improve reading proficiency gaps, Maryland Reads, a nonprofit focused on improving literacy rates through science of reading initiatives, cautions against increased access to technology, especially in younger grades, because it can negatively impact students' reading development.
Dive Insight:
On the Amira Learning homepage, Amira, which is also part of Louisiana’s latest efforts to improve reading scores, introduces herself and adds that she “doesn’t replace the tools you’ve invested in — I build a bridge to them.”
This emphasis on AI as a supplemental tool is crucial to scientists at the Educational Testing Service , a global education research organization.
Tenaha O’Reilly, managing principal research scientist at ETS, said this is an approach to calm some educators' reluctance to use AI in the classroom. He insists AI is not meant to replace human interaction.
“It's really critical to engage the teacher — to engage them early, engage them frequently, and hear from the teacher as much as possible,” said O’Reilly.
While AI tools like Amira can help address time constraints and individualize approaches for reading instruction, ETS distinguished presidential appointee Diego Zapata-Rivera recognizes that AI has its challenges as well. For instance, because these tools are based upon large databases that “feed” the information to the bot, there is a risk of unfair or incorrect assessment if the initial data is also biased.
To address some of these issues, ETS emphasizes the importance of AI literacy. AI literacy allows educators to take advantage of the benefits while being mindful of the space for error, according to Zapata-Rivera.
AI literacy equips teachers to question and reflect on the results AI tools show them. ETS published guidance that outlines responsible ways to incorporate AI in education assessments. Some of the recommendations include training AI using data that is representative of a diversity of student backgrounds and making AI algorithms understandable and transparent.
AI critics also worry about the accessibility of these programs for marginalized student populations. However, Zapata-Rivera said that if programmed correctly, these technologies can actually help bridge gaps. For example, multilingual learners can benefit from settings within these programs that can either translate texts and questions or rephrase them when a student is struggling to understand.
ETS scientists created their own AI reading tool, Relay Reader. Students listen and read in the app and do an interactive activity while the AI assesses their oral reading skills and presents data on reading accuracy and fluency to teachers. Beata Beigman Klebanov, ETS principal research scientist, highlighted that the application constantly evolves based on teacher feedback.
“The teacher is the one who listens to the students, teaches them all sorts of things, so they can tell us, ‘This doesn't quite look right,’ and we can follow up and investigate and understand,” Beigman Klebanov said.
O’Reilly predicts AI will continue to make its way into classrooms, adding that someday it will be the equivalent of using a calculator in math class. However, he urges schools and administrators to be critical about what AI tools to incorporate in their classrooms.
“There's a lot of hype about AI, but we have to make sure that it's evaluated,” O’Reilly said. “A lot of big claims are coming, and a lot of these startup companies are pushing stuff out to the schools, and the literature is very young on the actual quality of that.”
