PI: Bruce McLaren
Carnegie-Mellon University
Award Details

The United States has historically been the global leader in the field of artificial intelligence in education (AIED), or ways to use artificial intelligence technology to enhance teaching and learning in contexts ranging from children learning math in K12 setting, to soldiers learning highly technical jobs in the US military. The preeminent conference in this field is the International AIED conference; at this conference the latest research is presented and practitioners learn the state of the art techniques that allow creation of these important educational technologies.

This proposal would provide partial travel support for 18 Ph.D. students, selected through a competitive process, to attend the AIED conference, present their work, and receive additional mentoring outside of their dissertation committees as part of a doctoral consortium. The intellectual merit of the work rests on the studies the graduate students submit to be considered for participation in the early career track of the conference; this work is then enhanced by guidance from world-class mentors who meet with the students in a structured format to improve their research. The broader impact includes the career impact on the twenty selected students, especially since promising graduate students whose advisors may not have funding to send them to the conference can still be included, and their work can be showcased and improved. Possible long-term broader impacts include building the field of artificial intelligence in education and data analytics researchers and thus eventually, improving the quality of education.