Learn With Socrates is a program that generates individualized learning paths for students as they engage with the platform’s activities. Using AI enables the platform to automatically generate content that matches a student’s abilities.
Woot Math is an algebra intervention whose technology is now a part of Saga Education’s high-impact tutoring platform. By harnessing AI, Woot Math created a system to help educators better understand where their students need more support.
Turning Education R&D Investments into Impact
Learn With Socrates and Woot Math are using AI to drive outcomes for students with the support of strategic federal investments in education R&D.
$ 224804
Learn With Socrates received:
$224,804 from a National Science Foundation Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant
$ 150000
Woot Math received:
$150,000 from a National Science Foundation Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant
$ 750000
Woot Math received:
$750,000 from a National Science Foundation Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant
$ 150000
Woot Math received:
$150,000 from an Institute of Education Sciences Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant
$ 900000
Woot Math received:
$900,000 from an Institute of Education Sciences Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant
This funding led to:
18 to 34 %
18 to 34% improvement in standardized test scores for students who use Learn With Socrates daily.
10.9 percentiles
Improvement by 10.9 percentiles on a fraction assessment after just 10 days of using Woot Math.
How Federal Investments in Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Student Learning
Some people are understandably hesitant around using artificial intelligence (AI) in education out of concern that it could widen the digital divide or reinforce harmful biases. Yet, if these risks are properly mitigated, AI could actually promote equitable opportunities for students. Indeed, AI can be used to personalize instructional materials to meet the unique needs of individual students, make assessments adaptive, and increase accessibility for students with special needs. Federal investments are tapping into the potential of AI and supporting the development of education innovations like Learn With Socrates, Woot Math, and Active Learning at Scale. Each of these projects exemplifies the impact that AI can have on improving student outcomes.
Learn With Socrates
Learn With Socrates started in Las Vegas, Nevada as Education Revolution, LLC. The program automatically generates individualized learning paths for students based on data collected as they engage with the program’s activities. These paths adjust based on each student’s abilities across a range of educational topics; the program makes activities more challenging to test the limits of students’ knowledge and less challenging if a student is struggling.
After sharing their product with more than 12,000 students to test its efficacy, the Education Revolution team found that students who use the program for at least 20 minutes every day see an 18 to 34 percent improvement in their math and English Language Arts standardized test scores.
Woot Math
Another program enhanced by federal investments is Woot Math, a web- and app-based algebra intervention. Woot Math harnesses formative assessment techniques to create adaptive learning environments. In one trial, Woot Math was found to improve student performance by 10.9 percentiles on a fraction assessment after just 10 days of using the platform.
Woot Math also developed a prototype of an assessment dashboard that generates information on students’ work in algebra class. The information is shared in real time with teachers so that they can create instructional material based on how students are progressing. This program converts student work into data-driven insights that inform teacher instruction and student learning in middle and high school algebra classrooms.
Saga Education acquired Woot Math in 2020 and has since incorporated Woot Math’s technology into its high-impact tutoring platform, reaching more than 75,000 students per year. In a randomized control trial conducted by the University of Chicago, Saga Education was found to boost learning in math by up to 2.5 years in one academic year and reduce math course failures by 63%. Most recently, Saga Education’s tutoring program was selected for the Maryland Partnership for Proven Programs. This partnership will provide funding for Saga Education to expand its programming to Baltimore City Public Schools this year and to additional districts across the state in the next four years.
Continued Investments In AI For Education
Federal investments in AI learning tools are ongoing. IES’s 2024 Transformative Research in the Education Sciences Grants program is focusing its investments on innovative research that has the potential to start solving seemingly intractable challenges in education. The program’s focus for fiscal year 2024 is on “accelerating learning and reducing persistent education inequities by leveraging evidence-based principles from the learning sciences coupled with advanced technology to create high-reward, scalable technology solutions.” Each of the program’s three grantees all have projects that are centered on using AI to create high-impact, scalable solutions.
One of these projects, Active Learning at Scale: Transforming Teaching and Learning via Large-Scale Learning Science and Generative AI, is creating a flexible learning environment where postsecondary students can learn course content and practice their skills while on the go and in a variety of settings. The resulting platform harnesses large language models to generate interactive, research-informed, and engaging learning prompts that are accessible to students on their phones, laptops, or in the classroom. It then provides students with immediate adaptive feedback to enhance their learning.
AI has the potential to improve student outcomes if educators and learners are equipped with research-backed technologies and approaches. With AI advancing so rapidly, federal investments can support education research and development to identify the most effective ways to deploy AI in the classroom.