Project Overview
It is a common practice for generative AI (GenAI) models to go through “red teaming” and “alignment” processes before they are released to the public. But they – the models and tools powered by these models – can somehow escape such processes before they are deployed in educational settings.
This research project aims to critically examine and advance how GenAI tools can uphold and promote fundamental educational values. These values, which include student agency, cultural inclusivity, and ethical engagement, are central to learning environments that empower all learners. By conducting both technological evaluations of existing GenAI tools and forward-looking design explorations, the project seeks to shape the next generation of AI-driven educational technologies.
This project has two thrusts:
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First, we seek to evaluate how existing GenAI tools perform against core educational values such as student agency and cultural inclusivity. We conduct technological investigations using a mixed methods approach.
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Building on the first thrust, the project also applies value-sensitive design principles to conceptualize and prototype next-generation GenAI interfaces for education. We aim to surface values and value tensions in educational practice and aspire to build AI tools that center core education values and respect expertise and dignity of people in education.
Publications
- Cheng, J., Wang, C., & Chen, B. (under review). Evaluating Student Agency in AI-Generated Lesson Plans.
- Chen, B. (2024, October). Epistemic Agency and Infrastructure in the GenAI Era. Invited lecture at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
