Imagine Another Way

My solution is based on three factors: fun, facts and feedback. All factors will be created or enhanced by artificial intelligence. Each assessment will always contain these three factors.

Fun focuses on prompts designed to encourage free-writes, which will encourage student engagement and consider a scholar’s personal demographic.

Facts and statistics (think bottom of Snapple cap) are centered around lifting the veil of ‘academia’ in order to foster confidence in scholars, especially those who are under-performing.

Feedback using an opportunity-for-growth approach, which allows educators to provide constructive critique on different areas of study, while praising students for their comprehension and encouraging them to double down on their areas of growth. Each student will have an individual learning profile to serve as a personal file of assessment or record. 

My solution will impact the lives of priority learners and educators through AI-enabled assessment by way of three stages or phases.

First, educators will request all scholars complete the following confidential survey at the beginning of each semester/6-week period. Based on how each student answers their confidential survey, educators will then be able to create descriptive blurbs for each scholar, for example, “A 10-year-old who is outgoing and loves math and country music but struggles with authority or being told ‘no’.  The educator will be able to paste each scholar’s descriptor along with their free-write into ChatGPT to help provide personalized, encouraging feedback per scholar. For example, an educator will type into the ChatGPT dialog box, “Provide encouraging feedback to a shy 7-year-old who loves rap music, is good at drawing and struggles making friends, and wrote the following free-write: [insert free-write]”

Example Survey

• Do you tend to be more shy or outgoing?
• Are you happy or sad most days?
• Name one thing you excel at or are good at.
• Name one thing you struggle with outside of school.
• What is one thing you love about school?
• Who is your favorite musician, or what is your favorite TV show?

Second, the educator will be able to use ChatGPT to enter prompts for fun facts and statistics based on area of study and grade level. For example, the educator will enter into the ChatGPT dialog box, “Name five fun facts about math that a group of 3rd graders would find funny or amusing.” The educator would use these facts and statistics as “rest stops” during assessments, creating a more fun, yet engaging experience during the assessment.

Finally, the educator will be able to use ChatGPT to create a rubric or formula for testing comprehension based on area of study and grade level. For example, the educator will identify the areas of comprehension being tested per assessment. Then, they will enter into the ChatGPT dialog box, “Identify the areas of comprehension needed to pass the following assessment or exam: [insert test or exam questions]”.

I am well-positioned to deliver this solution because I am currently preparing to open my micro-school centered around social science for grades K-12, and I created a nonprofit for creative writing workshops for youth a few years out of undergrad. I have an authentic way of connecting with young people that makes them feel affirmed yet challenged. I have designed this assessment to be able to identify a scholar’s natural or innate skill set as well as their opportunities for growth. I know how vital these two factors are when it comes to children (and adults) organically expanding and cultivating a true affinity to learning. 

As, I mentioned above, I am currently preparing to open my own micro-school or learning pod in the fall of 2024, so I am in the concept stage of building out my assessments and curricula. I have built sight reading and reading comprehension benchmarks for grades 1-8 using ChatGPT. I am a homeschooling mom, so fortunately, I have been able to test a lot of my work out on my 5-year-old, who is reading at a 4th grade level and doing multiplication and division on a 3rd grade level.

Texas

The idea of centering innovative thought and imaginative exploration by way of free-writes, fun facts and constructive feedback creates a fresh solution to a long-standing problem in the education arena and beyond: burnout. Educators are overworked and near the point of exhaustion, and scholars are unmotivated and feeling inadequate. It is time for educators to adopt a more personalized teaching model, and for scholars to adapt to a more inclusive learning model. When young people feel seen and heard, they tend to thrive. We know this to be true based on articles and studies published by varying academic journals and institutions in past and recent years such as, “Helping Young People Feel That They Matter: Nurturing Students’ Eudaimonic Well-Being and Their Capacity to Build Peace” as featured in the Handbook of Curriculum Theory and Research.

I will be utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP) to power my solution. I believe this is the most efficient way to produce assessments and feedback that are low on time consumption yet personalized for each scholar. 

• Using praise to enhance student resilience and learning outcomes (apa.org)
• Andrew Ho on Evaluating Data and Learning Rates | Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Using Positive Feedback in Middle and High School Math Classrooms | Edutopia
• Being in a class with high achievers improves students' test scores (phys.org)

By using personalized descriptors, as mentioned in my response to “What Is Your Solution,” per AI entry/submission, I believe the chance of bias or discrimination will be miniscule. I also believe this is where the educator or human aspect comes into play to be able to filter or modify the AI-generated responses to accommodate each scholar. 

Right now, it is solely me.

• By the end of June 2024, I will have built outs example survey for each grade level, using different factors that are ailing our students such as loneliness, poverty, and overconsumption of media. This is the core of the work.
  
  
• By the end of July 2024, I will have created prompts for educators to use as templates when working in NPL AI domains to provide feedback on free-writes, generate fun facts and statistics as well feedback on any given assessment using an AI-generated rubric.
  
  
• By the end of August 2024, I will have created sample tests with corresponding rubrics using AI domains. I am preparing to open a micro-school in August 2024, so the date holds me accountable to preparing all of my assessment-related tasks in a timely manner.

The only thing you need to utilize ChatGPT is an email address, so the additional cost to the U.S. educational system is little to none.  

I am applying to the Learner//Meets//Future Challenge to light a fire in what appears to be a dark tunnel of diluted jargon. There’s so many studies and findings pointing to the problems young scholars are facing, and not enough innovative solutions to counter those problems. I am applying because I had an exceptional educational experience, attending magnet schools and community-centered events throughout my education. In the mid-2000s, I attended the number one high school in the nation (School for Talented & Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center) and there is where I developed a genuine understanding of what it meant to be surrounded by scholars and educators who were unyielding in their fight for innovation and conceptual thought. I believe my ability to see things from a deeply loving and macro-level is what makes me a leader of change. Right now, I am currently facing financial barriers and hope that with thoughtful consideration I am chosen as a finalist for this prestigious chance of impacting youth in Texas, and eventually globally. Thank you so much for your time. I truly appreciate it!