Latest news with #personalizedLearning
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
AI integration drives new approaches in Hawaii education
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in classrooms and at home, educators across Hawaii say the rise of personalized learning is beginning to reshape how students learn, and in some cases, whether they attend traditional schools at all. Justin Lai, an educational technologist at La Pietra—Hawai'i School for Girls, describes AI as a powerful partner for both teachers and students by supporting creativity, closing knowledge gaps and helping to organize complex information. Lai said La Pietra uses AI as a tool to help students generate ideas and create content, as a way to provide individualized academic support, and as a resource to help organize and make sense of complex information. Students use AI to brainstorm ideas, translate difficult concepts and manage overwhelming research tasks, while teachers are beginning to integrate curriculum content into AI platforms to create customized, interactive learning experiences. Still, Lai emphasized that keeping pace with AI's rapid evolution is a challenge even for those deeply immersed in the field. Because students are already using AI tools at home—often beyond the reach of school policies—he said schools must engage in open, community-wide communication. La Pietra is actively exploring how AI can serve as a creative collaborator in design thinking and accelerate project research. One promising example, according to Lai, is 'vibe coding, ' an emerging practice where students use AI to develop software more easily and intuitively. 'Students can learn to adaptively use new technology while applying skills in relevant contexts, ' Lai said, noting that such innovation is especially important in Hawaii, where communities grapple with high living costs, environmental concerns and talent retention. Ultimately, he believes the schools best positioned to thrive will be those that use AI 'to enhance human connection and community engagement, not replace it.' The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools has seen surging interest in AI training across its membership. 'It's been the No. 1 requested area of professional development by our schools, ' said Deanna D'Olier, HAIS executive director-elect. She added that AI integration in the classroom is not just about efficiency, it's about access and support. 'My hope is that AI is a supplement to school, ' D'Olier said. 'It helps keep learning moving in real time in ways that are incredibly difficult for any person to do, given the demands of traditional schooling.' Homeschooling support The emergence of AI as an educational tool coincides with the rise in home-schooling. A reason is that technology, and increasingly AI, is making the practice more viable and effective, according to D'Olier. According to the Johns Hopkins School of Education, the number of home-schooled students across the U.S. grew during the 2023 –2024 school year even as the overall K –12 population declined due to falling birth rates. In Hawaii, home-school participation spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained significantly higher than pre-COVID levels, though still a small percentage of all school-age children. In the 2008-2009 school year, 1, 555 students in Hawaii were reported as home-schooled. That number hit 6, 438 in 2020-2021, representing just 2.7 % of Hawaii's K-12 students. For the just-ended 2024-2025 school year, 4, 161 Hawaii students were home-schooled, down from the peak but still nearly triple the number from 15 years ago. D'Olier said the home-schooling trend in Hawaii mirrors the national movement but is also shaped by local dynamics, particularly for student athletes, military families or those seeking flexible or specialized learning environments. 'By home-schooling your child, you can (teach them ) anywhere, ' she said. 'You're not tethered to the brick and mortar.' Families may also choose home-schooling for academic, social-emotional or financial reasons, particularly if they lack access to a school that meets their needs but cannot afford private tuition, which continues to increase due to inflation. The rise in AI tools also has provided more support for home-school parents and students. These tools are making it easier for both home-schooled and traditionally enrolled students to get tailored academic support and explore subjects more deeply on their own time. 'AI will inevitably help keep students on pace with their learning, ' D'Olier said. 'It can serve as kind of that private tutor … helping them better understand whatever it is they're covering.' New tools like Khan Academy's AI-powered learning guide, Khanmigo, allow students to receive real-time academic support, ask questions, and stay on track—even without a traditional classroom structure. Khanmigo acts like a personal tutor and coach, helping students brainstorm ideas, work through math problems step by step and explore subjects through guided conversation. The platform is free for teachers, while families can subscribe for $4 per month to gain full access at home. is an AI-powered lesson platform that lets teachers create interactive, standards-aligned lessons with slides, polls and activities on any topic and in any language, while giving students real-time, personalized feedback to boost engagement and learning. , already widely used by teens, can help students brainstorm ideas, summarize reading material, draft essays, solve math problems or translate difficult concepts into plain language. In traditional schools The state Department of Education has been actively integrating AI to improve both teaching efficiency and student learning outcomes. DOE describes artificial intelligence as technology that can predict outcomes, make suggestions or help with decisions based on goals set by humans—following the definition laid out in the 2020 National Artificial Intelligence Act. AI is used in public schools to automate tasks like grading and lesson planning and support personalized tutoring for students. Through a cross-office collaboration model, the department has launched a public-facing AI website, initiated professional development sessions, and is running pilot programs such as MagicSchool to test AI tools in classrooms. At the private Mid-Pacific Institute in Manoa Valley, preparations for AI integration began just months after ChatGPT's public release in November 2022. The school established an AI Council made up of educators, students and industry professionals to help shape its approach, and began rolling out professional development for teachers at all grade levels. 'We knew that we needed to up-skill our teachers as quickly as possible, ' said Brian Grantham, Mid-Pacific's director of educational technology. Mid-Pacific's focus ranges from building AI literacy across all grades—helping students understand what AI is, how it works, the potential biases and errors in AI outputs, and the importance of validating those outputs—and developing AI certification classes open to faculty from any school. 'Most importantly, we knew that we needed to show our students and teachers myriad ways AI platforms could be leveraged to deepen their subject matter understanding, compared to cognitive offloading and taking shortcuts, ' Grantham said. Educators say this convergence of AI-powered personalization and a growing array of educational models marks a pivotal moment for K-12 learning. But it also brings new responsibilities. Grantham, Lai and D'Olier all emphasized the importance of ethical AI use, strong data privacy protections and professional training. 'There's not a school in Hawaii that isn't actively engaged in establishing effective use policies and safety features around AI, ' D'Olier said, adding that OpenAI, Google and other companies are working directly with educational institutions to develop safe, school-ready platforms. Ultimately, Hawaii's independent schools are betting on AI not to replace human educators, but to amplify them. 'Counter-intuitive as it may seem, ' Lai said, 'AI has the potential to strengthen the most human aspects of education by freeing teachers from routine tasks, allowing more time for meaningful relationships, hands-on learning and authentic community engagement.'
National Post
30-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Cognita Partners with Flint to Roll Out Personalized AI Learning Across Global School Network
Article content NEW YORK — Flint, a leading AI platform built for K-12 personalized learning, announced today a new partnership with leading global K-12 schools group, Cognita. With over 100 schools and 95,000 students in 17 countries, Cognita provides world class education around the globe. This announcement of a phased rollout across Cognita schools follows a successful pilot across six schools, and marks a major commitment to responsible, personalized AI integration in K-12 learning environments. Article content 'I am thrilled that the pilot has been such a success, and we are excited to continue working together in a way that will bring the best of AI to our educators and students around the world.' —Dr. Simon Camby, Group Chief Education Officer at Cognita Article content The pilot program included Colegio Olinca in Mexico City, International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), The Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai, Southbank International School in London, ISHCMC American Academy (AAVN), and The British School of Barcelona. Results showed significantly improved student learning outcomes across multiple areas from mathematics to languages and college essay feedback. Article content Flint enables Cognita teachers to generate custom, interactive activities, deliver differentiated learning materials, and provide instant formative feedback. Students can also use Flint to get additional practice problems, brainstorm ideas, and develop AI literacy with proper guardrails. Article content Dr. Simon Camby, Group Chief Education Officer at Cognita, commented: 'Our approach is to take a considered view about the most effective and impactful ways to integrate AI into our classrooms in order to ensure that it truly benefits our teachers and students. After a thorough selection process, we chose to work with Flint because of its flexibility and ability to align with how our schools teach and operate, while also delivering the personalized learning experience we want for every student. I am thrilled that the pilot has been such a success, and we are excited to continue working together in a way that will bring the best of AI to our educators and students around the world.' Article content 'We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Cognita,' said Sohan Choudhury, CEO of Flint. 'Through our first partnership with a Cognita school during the 2023-24 school year and the pilot earlier in 2025, we've had the opportunity to work closely with educators at a number of Cognita schools. We've been amazed by their commitment to personalizing learning for students, as well as by the focus from Cognita's leadership on embracing AI in a way that enhances, not replaces, the teacher's role in the classroom.' Article content Onboarding will include custom professional learning sessions for faculty, student-facing AI literacy programming, and family engagement resources to ensure transparent implementation aligned with community values. The partnership positions both organizations at the forefront of ethical, effective AI use in education. Article content Flint is an AI-powered learning platform built for K-12 classrooms. Designed to support both teachers and students, Flint enables personalized instruction, curriculum-aligned content generation, and real-time feedback, all with educator oversight of AI use. Article content Article content Article content Article content Media Contact Article content Article content Article content
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Science
- Fast Company
Why diversity training should be customized to different ‘personas'
Diversity training is more effective when it's personalized, according to my new research in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Psychology. As a professor of management, I partnered with Andrew Bryant, who studies social marketing, to develop an algorithm that identifies people's 'personas,' or psychological profiles, as they participate in diversity training in real time. We embedded this algorithm into a training system that dynamically assigned participants to tailored versions of the training based on their personas. We found that this personalized approach worked especially well for one particular group: the 'skeptics.' When skeptics received training tailored to them, they responded more positively—and expressed a stronger desire to support their organizations' diversity efforts—than those who received the same training as everyone else. In the age of social media, where just about everything is customized and personalized, this sounds like a no-brainer. But with diversity training, where the one-size-fits-all approach still rules, this is radical. In most diversity trainings, all participants hear the same message, regardless of their preexisting beliefs and attitudes toward diversity. Why would we assume that this would work? Thankfully, the field is realizing the importance of a learner-centric approach. Researchers have theorized that several diversity trainee personas exist. These include the resistant trainee, who feels defensive; the overzealous trainee, who is hyper-engaged; and the anxious trainee, who is uncomfortable with diversity topics. Our algorithm, based on real-world data, identified two personas with empirical backing: skeptics and believers. This is proof of concept that trainee personas aren't just theoretical—they're real, and we can detect them in real time. But identifying personas is just the beginning. What comes next is tailoring the message. To learn more about tailoring, we looked to the theory of jujitsu persuasion. In jujitsu, fighters don't strike. They use their opponent's energy to win. Similarly, in jujitsu persuasion, you yield to the audience, not challenge it. You use the audience's beliefs, knowledge, and values as leverage to make change. In terms of diversity training, this doesn't mean changing what the message is. It means changing how the message is framed. For example, the skeptics in our study still learned about the devastating harms of workplace bias. But they were more persuaded when the message was framed as a 'business case' for diversity rather than a 'moral justice' message. The 'business case' message is tailored to skeptics' practical orientation. If diversity training researchers and practitioners embrace tailoring diversity training to different trainee personas, more creative approaches to tailoring will surely be designed. Our research offers a solution: Identify the trainee personas represented in your audience and customize your training accordingly. This is what social media platforms like Facebook do: They learn about people in real time and then tailor the content they see. To illustrate the importance of tailoring diversity training specifically, consider how differently skeptics and believers think. One skeptic in our study—which focused on gender diversity training—said: 'The issue isn't as great as feminists try to force us to believe. Women simply focus on other things in life; men focus on career first.' In contrast, a believer said: 'In my own organization, all CEOs and managers are men. Women are not respected or promoted very often, if at all.' Clearly, trainees are different. Tailoring the training to different personas, jujitsu style, may be how we change hearts and minds. What still isn't known Algorithms are only as good as the data they rely on. Our algorithm identified personas based on information the trainees reported about themselves. More objective data, such as data culled from human resources systems, may identify personas more reliably. Algorithms also improve as they learn over time. As artificial intelligence tools become more widely used in HR, persona-identifying algorithms will get smarter and faster. The training itself needs to get smarter. A onetime training session, even a tailored one, stands less of a chance at long-term change compared with periodic nudges. Nudges are bite-sized interventions that are unobtrusively delivered over time. Now, think about tailored nudges. They could be a game changer.
