CEE Student Outreach Specialist Dr. Maryam Ghadiri will lead a project to introduce AI teaching assistance for middle and high school students in Champaign-Urbana. Funded by the Grainger College of Engineering’s GIANT program, the project, “Enabling AI Learning Support for Champaign-Urbana Schools: Addressing Barriers and Promoting Equity of Access,” aims to bridge the gap between AI development and practical knowledge in education.
In the initial phase, the team will research the challenges schools and educators face in adopting AI technologies and identify the available resources. They will conduct a small-scale pilot study to determine effective AI deployment methods, aiming to enhance teaching practices, student learning outcomes, and equity in access to educational resources.
The project involves University of Illinois faculty from CEE, Mechanical Science and Engineering, and the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. Together, the team will use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to assess the benefits of AI assistance for students from various grades and income levels. They will additionally evaluate which subjects are best suited for AI augmentation.
“This interdisciplinary project leverages diverse expertise across engineering departments, and we hope to expand it to CEE classrooms in Phase 2,” Dr. Ghadiri said.
Ultimately, the project hopes to both support students and assist teachers by automating repetitive classroom tasks. The GIANT team will provide training for teachers on effective AI implementation.
The GIANT program, part of the Grainger College of Engineering's IDEA initiative, supports projects that enhance inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in engineering.