Digital Promise Resource Repository
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Connecting SEERNet and Improvement Science to Pursue Better Outcomes in Schools
(SEERNet, Digital Promise, 2024-11) Jojo Manai; Jeremy Roschelle
In every school, dedicated teachers strive to support their students' unique learning journeys. Imagine a classroom where potential challenges are quickly identified and met with precise interventions. Imagine a school or school district where the many potential ways to solve problems can be quickly tested, and the best solutions rapidly scaled up across the district. We explore how this vision can become a reality through the integration of Improvement Science with SEERNet's data and research capabilities. Improvement Science offers a structured approach to identifying and solving problems. SEERNet—a network of digital learning platforms, researchers, and educators—provides a method to use evidence to compare alternative approaches to supporting students on the basis of detailed data from students’ experiences in digital learning platforms. However, this vision cannot be realized in isolation. Collaboration between researchers and practitioners is vital for improving student outcomes. Researchers contribute theoretical knowledge and empirical skills, while practitioners bring on-the-ground professional experience and knowledge about what works for their students. Working together, they can advance how educational technologies are used for student learning in ways that are research based, practical and relevant. This white paper explores how and why SEERNet could be combined with Improvement Science methodologies. We delve into the collaborative power of Networked Improvement Communities (NICs), a core method in Improvement Science. We then examine the dynamic interplay between SEERNet's approach and Improvement Science. A scenario illustrates how a school district could use Terracotta, a platform that enables research within a popular LMS, to address reading comprehension barriers in STEM subjects for English learners and students with disabilities. Researchers and teachers collaborate to test assignment modifications, such as adding text-to-speech tools and steps to clarify questions. Using iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, they refine these strategies based on data, resulting in improved outcomes. The paper concludes with five recommendations: fostering collaboration, enhancing data sharing, leveraging root cause analysis, implementing iterative improvements, and scaling successful interventions.
El Rol de las Micro-credenciales en el Aprendizaje y el Desarrollo a lo Largo de la Vida: Empoderando Estudiantes, Empoderando Organizaciones
(Digital Promise, 2024-11) Marilys Galindo, Ed.D; Rita Fennelly-Atkinson, Ed.D; Kristen Franklin; Christina Luke Luna, Ph.D
El eBook “El Rol de las Micro-credenciales en el Aprendizaje y el Desarrollo a lo Largo de la Vida: Empoderando Estudiantes, Empoderando Organizaciones” es un recurso para los interesados en comprendar micro-credenciales. El eBook se enfoca en varios aspectos importantes que son fundamentales para comprender micro-credenciales, comenzando por la definición de micro-credenciales de Digital Promise, seguida por la posición y el rol de las micro-credenciales en el ecosistema de las credenciales. También, el eBook explora el valor de las micro-credenciales para los estudiantes, las instituciones de educación postsecundaria y la fuerza laboral, las implicaciones de la IA en las micro-credenciales y las tendencias nacionales de micro-credenciales para educadores. Por último, el eBook comparte la visión de Digital Promise sobre cómo se pueden aprovechar las micro-credenciales basadas en competencias para apoyar a los estudiantes que han sido histórica y sistemáticamente excluidos y a las organizaciones que los atienden.
An Ethical and Equitable Vision of AI in Education: Learning Across 28 Exploratory Projects
(Digital Promise, 2024-10) Sierra Noakes; Alison Shell; Alexis M. Murillo; Parker Van Nostrand; Pati Ruiz; Shayla Cornick; Sana Karim
This report shares the learnings across 28 exploratory projects from teams across K-12 school districts, nonprofits, and nonprofit and for-profit edtech companies, leveraging AI to support numerous goals across K-12 educational settings. Through this report, we aim to highlight the early successes of AI, surface the key barriers that call for cross-disciplinary and collective problem-solving, and consider the potential for each sector to drive forward an equitable future for AI in education. Preliminary findings from these projects show early evidence of AI’s effectiveness in various tasks, including translation, speech recognition, personalization, organizing and summarizing large qualitative datasets, and streamlining tasks to allow teachers more time with their students. However, these projects also experienced challenges with the current capabilities of AI, often leading to resource- and time-intensive processes, as well as difficulties around adoption and implementation. Additionally, many surfaced concerns around the ethical development and use of AI. Through this work, we have seen exciting ways that cross-sector collaborations are taking shape and gained a large sample of examples that emphasize the need for co-design to build meaningful AI-enabled tools. We call on education leaders, educators, students, product developers, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations to step back from our day-to-day and imagine a revolutionized education system.
Updated Summary and Synthesis of OpenSciEd Research
(Digital Promise, 2024-10) McElhaney, Kevin; Kamdar, Danae
This report summarizes and synthesizes OpenSciEd research published from October 2022 to September 2024. This review includes 24 publications (journal articles, peer-reviewed conference proceedings, conference papers, doctoral dissertations, and book chapters), which fall into five broad categories based on their main area of focus: design, classroom enactment, teacher supports, system-level implementation, and student outcomes. The paper summarizes each paper and synthesizes the papers’ insights into five overarching themes: (1) curriculum design tensions, (2) promoting inclusive classroom culture, (3) teachers’ customizations, (4) teacher professional learning, and (5) district implementation. The report also identifies fruitful research directions based on remaining gaps, such as enactment of the elementary and high school units, student learning outcomes, materials adoption and implementation, classroom-based assessment practices, and an efficacy study.
Unveiling the Value of Exploration: Insights from NSF-Funded Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning
(Digital Promise, 2024-10) Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences (CIRCLS)
This report investigates how interdisciplinary, exploratory projects contribute to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) mission of building scientific knowledge and translating research into practice.
The Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences (CIRCLS) examined the overall portfolio and interviewed PIs funded by NSF across five key topics: Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Collaborative Learning, Accessibility and Learning, and Simulations. In total, 208 projects between 2017 and 2024 were analyzed to characterize the value of interdisciplinary, exploratory, research.
Thematic analyses revealed that engaging in interdisciplinary, exploratory research enabled PIs to ask novel questions, combine different kinds of expertise, engage collaboratively with practitioners, and design equitable technology-enhanced learning experiences across three key themes: Exploration and Discovery Across New Frontiers, Equitable Co-Designed Learning and Practice, and Emerging Impact Through Networked Communities.
Recommendations for field focused on: 1) creating opportunities for future-oriented, exploratory research; 2) nurturing interdisciplinary research identities and researcher-practitioner partnerships; 3) Uncovering processes uniquely important in exploratory, interdisciplinary research; and 4) Supporting researcher-practitioner networks to grow the field, synthesize outcomes, and amplify broader impacts.