The program, called AugmentED, will be the fourth “moonshot” initiative from the nonprofit Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF), according to a recent news release.
AERDF launched in 2021 to speed the search for evidence-based breakthroughs that can be scaled across education systems. Its other three programs are in various stages of research and development. One explores the connection between math learning and executive function, another aims to assess what skills students use to learn, and a third seeks to better understand and resolve student literacy issues.
All of them incorporate technology to some extent, but AugmentED will be the first to center on it, as the program’s main goal is to discover the transformative potential of AI for education.
“While much of today’s conversation centers on using AI to make current approaches to education more efficient, AugmentED will bring together expert educators, researchers and technologists to reimagine the role of educators and the learning experiences of students for the age of AI and co-create AI-powered tools to support this transformation,” the news release states.
The effort will be led by AugmentED Executive Director Sherry Lachman and Chief Research and Impact Officer Caitlin Mills. Lachman has served as a senior education adviser in the U.S. Senate and Department of Education and is the former head of social impact at OpenAI. Mills is an associate professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Educational Psychology, where she researches the intersection of psychology, computer science and education. Her lab focuses on “mind wandering, engagement and emotions during learning with multi-method approaches to inform theory and practice,” per the AERDF release.
The release adds that AERDF's vision for AugmentED is to create a future where educators use AI-powered tools to personalize lessons for students and free up time for themselves to focus on human aspects of teaching.
“AugmentED envisions a future where teachers and AI work in harmony to nurture the full potential of all students,” the release states. “With data and support from these tools, educators will better tailor their instruction to their students’ needs and spend more time motivating and building relationships with students in ways only humans can.”
Funding for AugmentED and the other three AERDF programs comes from the Gates Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Walton Family Foundation.
