IDS affiliate Shamya Karumbaiah was recently awarded a Spencer Foundation Grant to study how generative AI educational tools can better support multilingual learning. Karumbaiah, an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Educational Psychology, is a computer scientist and learning scientist whose work focuses on using human-centered AI to improve learning outcomes for students.
The proposed research builds on earlier work conducted as part of an IDS seed grant. While AI educational tools have been shown to be effective for learners using a single language, they are less effective in picking up on the ideas of students who switch between two languages — also known as translanguaging. Karumbaiah says “she is grateful to the Spencer Foundation for the opportunity to build on this research to develop classroom support for teachers.” Improving these tools can not only help students, but also has the potential to provide additional support to less-resourced schools, especially those in rural areas.
Read more about Spencer Foundation Grants.