When it comes to AI in education, one edtech company stands out as a wise leader and pioneer.
Amidst a chaotic flood of new generative AI tools, and complaints and disasters flooding school leaders, Carnegie Learning Go all AI For about 25 years.
After starting with MATHia, an adaptive AI tutor that tutors middle school and high school students, Carnegie Learning last year launched AI-based tools for literacy, language, tutoring, and professional learning for teachers and leaders. I spread my hands out.
And while CEO Barry Malkin is excited that today's artificial intelligence has the power to personalize education in ways unimaginable just a year and a half ago, Carnegie's approach to A.I. The way we do things hasn't changed: with humans in mind.
“Underlying everything we do is the goal of students, teachers, and leaders to use learning science and AI to support student achievement,” Malkin explains.
The path to their common goal is equally simple: continuous research, customer feedback, and growth.
And they grew. Since we spoke when Malkin became CEO seven years ago, Carnegie has added his 500 new employees, 500 adjunct instructors, four new adaptive AI products, countless research projects, and added a new Canadian headquarters.
After seven years of sitting in classrooms and speaking with school leaders, a pandemic and a leap into national AI mania, Malkin today shares how schools can choose AI tools wisely and how Carnegie fits into the AI landscape. We're sharing our own insights on what to do. How AI can be a source of positive reinforcement for learners.
EdSurge: What makes Carnegie Learning's approach to AI different from other edtech products?
Malkin: Our origin story is one of the first AI-driven products launched by Carnegie Mellon University through Carnegie Learning: 25 years ago, Carnegie Mellon created MATHia, the first adaptive AI-driven tutor for teaching middle school math, which remains one of our flagship products today.
Carnegie Learning was way ahead of its time with its early AI. Of course, the technology back then wasn't as advanced as it is today, but it was still an artificial intelligence-driven, adaptive learning-driven product. When the generative AI revolution occurred, we were in the perfect position as leaders to step up and apply that AI knowledge in ways that directly support students and teachers.
We have people who understand the technology behind AI. We have researchers who have been studying it for 25 years. AI is already part of Carnegie Learning's DNA, and now we are moving fast and furious to integrate it into our products in new and effective ways.
Based on this deep experience, what do you think school leaders and teachers can look for when choosing effective AI tools?
Many technology solutions already exist in the education sector, but only a few are delivering real value, and AI is no exception. Anyone can build technology products around education, but not many can create truly impactful technology products inspired by learning science and research.
Everyone has access to large-scale language models (LLMs) that can be used by many companies in this space to build educational applications that look the same on the surface. Only companies that understand cognitive models and learning science and have the data to add something substantive to LLM will be able to deliver meaningfully differentiated products.
At Carnegie Learning, for example, we're being thoughtful and purposeful about integrating generative AI into our products as an enhancement to the work we're already doing, which is really important.
We're integrating this into our curriculum. It's not just a tool that educators and students have access to. It's a tool that's embedded in the Carnegie learning ecosystem, and it gives educators and students another tool in their arsenal to challenge them and inspire them to learn more.
Schools need to consider these things when implementing AI tools. What is the actual value of this tool to students and teachers? Is it thoughtful, purposeful, and most importantly, research-based?
Research is clearly important at Carnegie. What would actually happen?
We have a large research team that constantly studies the effectiveness of our products and runs a continuous improvement system to constantly improve our solutions.
Their spirit is one of constant questioning and exploration.
Our research team is constantly challenging ourselves. Let's see if this math problem is biased, test it on different communities, and find out which languages resonate positively to improve results. How can we better understand student misconceptions? Are there patterns in the types of mistakes students make? This is important.
They are never satisfied with the status quo and are very passionate about introducing product and content enhancements that make a difference.
Carnegie research teams also engage in large-scale studies, such as the gold standard RAND study funded by the U.S. Department of Education, as well as smaller-scale studies with school districts and schools. Data collection and independent verification, and I emphasize that our own independent evaluations are essential to the reliability of our products. All of this influences the processes that make our products more effective. That's a key part of our goal.
How do you think AI will support the goal of providing access to equitable and personalized learning for all students?
If we use this technology in the right way, we can give students what they want (and I remember wanting when I was a student): more engagement, more empowerment, more context. . Today's students deserve it.
It's great to help students understand the theory, but they also need to understand the practical application of their learning. “What can we do with this knowledge? How can we take it beyond the classroom?”
We spend a lot of time sitting in classrooms and observing. There's no reason why curriculum and technology can't inspire all students. Technologies such as adaptive AI can greatly help through personalization. And the more we can do that, the more successful we will be in igniting passion in every learner.
I was struggling as a middle school math student. I remember sitting in a classroom as the lesson progressed, wrestling with the concepts that were keeping me from moving further and faster. It's a tough place and it feels terrible. I am motivated to support all students, but especially those who require additional support. Carnegie Learning's products, especially AI-powered solutions, are well-positioned to help students consistently reach grade level.
If we can help our students achieve greater things, we will have accomplished something great. That's exactly what we're doing here.
