Pilot Programs Showcase AI’s Potential in Education

Many thanks to Nadim Nsouli, CEO of Inspired Education, for his thoughts on AI and its use and implementation in schools.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has slowly but surely been integrating itself into our day-to-day. Thus, it’s no surprise that the field of education is also benefitting. 

AI is an opportunity to revolutionise how we learn and teach. In fact, just this summer, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, stated that AI and personalised learning would play a central role in the future of education in the UK. Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education, also called on schools to provide their perspectives on how its benefits can be maximised.

Educational AI in Action

Century Tech (UK)

Century Tech tracked the attainment of pupils from Years 3 to 6 at Sunny Bank Primary School. The pupils took a test in the autumn and summer terms, and their scores were analysed in relation to the amount of time they’d spent on Century for each subject.

88% of pupils progressed in one or more, and over half progressed in all three tested.

Dreambox Learning (USA)

In the USA, LearnPlatform looked at students in the William Penn School District who completed 1+ hours a week of DreamBox’s maths lessons. Among those who had, they were found to have received higher end-of-year maths scores.

Standardised effect sizes (Hedge’s g) suggested it was 4x more effective than elementary school maths teaching. 

Inspired Education (Worldwide)

Inspired Education’s pilot program tested AI technology in 26 schools across 12 countries. More than 14,000 students took part, and the results were nothing short of impressive. Students experienced an average increase of 8.12 percentage points in their performance, equivalent to an entire grade boundary.

Primary Purposes of AI in Education

These examples demonstrate how AI technology is being used in education to enhance learning. We spoke to Nadim Nsouli, CEO of Inspired Education, about its power to transform.

Personalised Learning

Inspired Education uses AI to deliver dynamic learning in core subjects. This is done by assessing each student’s strengths and weaknesses, and then tailoring their exercises and modules accordingly.

As such, “the Inspired AI platform creates bespoke pathways for students” says Nadim, meaning that students receive the support they individually need to excel.

Teacher Support

Inspired’s AI platform reduces teachers’ workload, proving particularly useful for tasks like marking and resource creation. It can also give actionable insight at an individual level, flagging interventions if needed.

“The AI platform doesn’t replace teachers but complements their work”, Nadim states, and this collaboration between teachers and AI technology serves to enhance the learning experience. 

Improved Performance

The data from the pilot program showed significant improvements in student performance, with its impact most apparent in subjects like Biology and Chemistry.

“This approach, in partnership with world-class teachers, ensures a student’s specific weaknesses are addressed” states Nadim. He goes on to say, “by doing so, it amplifies their strengths across each subject. So if a student is good with probability in maths, it recognises that they don’t need to practice that principle as much in physics as the student has already developed and shown a strong understanding of the academic principles.”

The Future of AI in Education

Artificial Intelligence is a truly pervasive technology. This is not surprising when it has the power to improve lives wherever it’s implemented.

In the context of education, it’s possible to build a curriculum tailored to each pupil. “It’s clear that the future of education will be increasingly personalised, and that technologies like AI will be key in ensuring students flourish and reach their full potential” concludes Nadim.

The future sketches the figure of a teacher who, with the help of AI, can teach dynamically whilst saving time on mundane tasks. “Education is evolving” says Nadim, and “we’re determined to remain at the cutting edge”, he emphasises.