Copernicus Learning Lab

The Copernicus Learning Lab proposes to use Microsoft Copilot AI tools to enhance student assessment across an integrated set of educational opportunities.

Enhanced student assessment is critical in four areas:

• Provides the seasoned teacher with additional insights into student performance.
• Accelerates the ability of a new teacher to acquire assessment skills.
• Provides evidence that the program is producing desired outcomes.  This is critical as there is a high level of resistance to incorporating new programs, given the state of public education. 
• Demonstrates that ‘code to learn’ activities increase language arts and mathematics proficiency as well as computational proficiency.

Student assessment is needed in three areas: Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes.

We hope to benefit from advertised AI enabled assessments in the following areas:

Enhanced Efficiency: AI streamlines the assessment process, reducing the time and effort educators spend on grading and administrative tasks. This allows educators to allocate more time to teaching and mentoring students.

Objective Evaluation: AI-driven assessments are based on algorithms and data analysis, ensuring that evaluations are objective and consistent. This minimizes potential biases that may arise in human grading.

Personalized Feedback: AI can provide students with personalized feedback tailored to their individual strengths and weaknesses. This targeted feedback helps students understand where they need improvement and how to progress.

Real-time Insights: AI tools provide educators with real-time data on student performance. This enables early intervention for students who may be struggling, allowing educators to provide timely support.

 Data-Driven Decision Making: The wealth of data generated by AI assessments allows institutions to make data-driven decisions about curriculum design, teaching methods, and resource allocation.

Integrated set of planned activities where AI enabled assessments will be conducted:

• Reconstitute the Creative Coding with SCRATCH program. This program was part of the Rhode Island Computer Science for Rhode Island Program (CS4RI). Covid resulted in the suspension of the program.  Since there is a significant amount of data that supports assessment, this component of the program will be used to understand the additional features of the AI enabled assessment.
• Introduce RAISE Playground. MIT has released a updated version of SCRATCH that has AI related features.  This second component of the program will allow us to use AI enabled assessments to assess AI learning.
• Continue piloting the RAICA program. Add SOLVE challenges as areas addressed by the students. The MIT RAICA (Responsible AI for Computational Action) curriculum is being piloted at the Copernicus Learning Lab. The curriculum includes design thinking. RAICA has an existing evaluation framework.  This third component of the program will allow the teaching staff to augment present assessments.
• Engage the Rhode Island Learn365 RI program.  Rhode Island has launched a program to provide learning opportunities outside of the traditional school day in publicly funded community learning centers. An AI enabled assessment of this initiative is the final component of the program. 

The program will be delivered by FabNewport (Home - FabNewport) in a community learning Center located in a public housing complex.  The program Learn365RI "is designed to shift learning from the traditional 180 school days to 365 days of learning by supporting partnerships between municipalities, local education agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) to expand high-quality, extended learning experiences."

The Learn365RI initiatives allows for wide flexibility in program design and execution.  We will have an opportunity to reduce traditional barriers, such as time on task, transportation, and adherence to the public-school schedule (learning will not stop over the summer break).

AI enabled assessments will allow us to be more responsive to program revisions (both in time and in quality) thus increasing the attainment of the desired outcomes.

Tom Kowalczyk, retired engineer and manager, has assisted with the deployment of MIT Media lab educational environments since 1988. (Robotics, Computational Proficiency).  Tom has extensive connections in the RI k-12 enterprise.  As a member of the MIT Startup Exchange, Tom keeps current with the innovation sector.  Tom is chairman of the Middletown R.I. Economic Development Advisory Committee and the Middletown R.I.  Outreach Advisory Committee.  The Middletown Outreach Department is responsible for the LEARN365RI program in Middletown, R.I.

Josie Michaud and Ann Villereal are master teachers and have been implementing MIT Media Lab programs (SCRATCH) for the past twenty years.

Samantha Richard Domizlaff  serves as Senior Director, US Education Partner for Microsoft.

Steve Heath co-founded FabNewport in 2013, with the desire to help youth to develop the skills, confidence, and commitment to positively impact their communities and make their lives. Home - FabNewport  

Our team has educated over 350 teachers in the SCRATCH programming environment.  We have also piloted MIT Media Lab innovations such as Dress Code and SCRATCH Extensions. We are currently piloting the RAICA Curriculum.

Rhode Island

Our solution is to integrate several learning environments and bring in AI as an assessment assistant in evaluating the impact of our program. 

The program will be delivered in a Community Learning Center, a new Rhode Island Initiative to deliver public education outside the traditional school calendar.

We are currently piloting the MIT Responsible AI for Computational Action (RAICA) middle school curriculum.  The curriculum presently utilizes 'exit tickets' to test student knowledge of the AI related material.  The RAICA curriculum relies on Google Teachable Machines and the MIT Media Lab RAISE Playground (an advanced version of the SCRATCH programming environment). 

The RAICA curriculum calls for the practice of responsible design thinking as students begin their final project.

Our solution is structured as follows:

1. Since the RAICA curriculum has a heavy emphasis on the RAISE Playground, we would add an AI powered assessment of computational proficiency.

2. We would constrain project topics to those included in the SOLVE Open Challenge. Students would experience being problem solvers addressing some of the most critical needs in our society.

• Personalized learning: Copilot can support personalized learning by helping you create content, tailored feedback, and guidance for students based on their individual needs and learning styles. 
• Brainstorming: You can use Copilot to brainstorm new ideas for activities, lesson plans, supporting materials, and assignments.  
• Lesson planning: Copilot can help you plan lessons by suggesting or drafting activities, resources, and assessments that align with learning objectives. You can also use Copilot to start a rubric for the lessons. 
• Provide feedback: Copilot can help you draft initial feedback and ideas for students on their work, which you can edit and personalize for your students. 

SCRATCH is a proven environment.  Its availability in multiple languages makes it a perfect educational tool for Multi Language Learners.  RAICA is backed by MIT research.

The Microsoft CoPilot is in a marketplace where the tools are continually improved.

The program will be delivered in a Community Learning Center shared by Newport, R.I. and Middletown, R.I.   The Center is located in a public housing complex.  Barriers to full participation (such as transportation) have been significantly reduced.

Part time staff: 6

two master teachers

one teacher

one Microsoft advisor

one task lead

one facility lead

We are pilot ready. We are requesting assistance to refine our plan.  With or without this grant we plan to proceed to apply for local grants.

We work closely with the RI Department of Education on deployment throughout RI.

Our solutions will be made available to the broader community at no cost.

We hope to have access to thought leaders.  For computer applications embedded in our program, we hope to leverage the Solve Initiative as a motivator for out studetns.