Tina Cheuk, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo

One of the biggest challenges, and ultimately the most rewarding part of my participation in CIRCLS, was navigating conversations that brought divergent ideas together.

“As a teacher educator who works with bilingual and GenEd teachers in inclusion settings, I often grapple with the tension between imagining the future potential of AI in education and confronting the challenging realities that public school teachers face daily. This experience has only heightened my awareness of the need to critically assess AI investments, pushing me to question whether our solutions genuinely address root causes rather than merely applying technological fixes to complex, systemic issues.  I ask myself and my peers, “”Who ultimately benefits from these AI tools?””, “”Who holds the power?””, and “”Who then become empowered by the innovations?””

One of the biggest challenges, and ultimately the most rewarding part of my participation in CIRCLS, was navigating conversations that brought divergent ideas together. I’m cautiously optimistic about seeing how these exchanges could move us beyond niche technology applications, steering us toward broader, equity-driven goals. This dynamic process of debate, critique, and collaborative problem-solving made it clear that our shared values around justice and equitable access must guide our work with AI and technology in education.

My involvement in CIRCLS has strengthened my resolve to ensure that the AI solutions we explore align not only with the challenges the diversity of our teachers and students face but also with our commitment to fostering an educational landscape that prioritizes and centers equity and justice. What is notable was that at times, values and beliefs around equity and justice was not always in alignment.

Gennie Mansi, Georgia Tech

Through the RETTL grant and CIRCLS I got to engage in cross disciplinary and hands on work with K12 engineering teachers.

I am a PhD student, and I got to work on a RETTL grant with my advisor and attend a CIRCLS conference. Through the RETTL grant and CIRCLS I got to engage in cross disciplinary and hands on work with K12 engineering teachers. I learned a lot about community based work to make technology that responds to teachers’ needs. I’ve been energized by seeing the positive responses of our study participants to what we’re building. Through RETTL/CIRCLS I also got to learn a lot about how to write a grant, which has positively impacted me. Since attending, I have written my own supplemental funding grant that helped me travel overseas, and I worked with my advisor on a separate grant for a longer term project. It’s given me a lot of good professional connections and mentoring!

Autar Kaw, University of South Florida

The conference provided new ideas, such as using cloud-based polling instead of physical clickers during on-campus classes. The focus on equity was significant, emphasizing ways to reach all learners.

I attended the CIRCLS conference twice, virtually in 2021 during the COVID-19 epidemic and face-to-face in 2023. At that time, we had an NSF grant #2013271 titled “Transforming Undergraduate Engineering Education through Adaptive Learning and Student Data Analytics.” The grant was given to study the use of personalized online lessons to improve pre-class preparation for flipped learning. The research questions and methods initially intended for face-to-face classes had to be revised for remote learning. The conference provided new ideas, such as using cloud-based polling instead of physical clickers during on-campus classes. The focus on equity was significant, emphasizing ways to reach all learners. During COVID, socioeconomic disparities became more apparent, and solutions like open education resources made course materials affordable. Live YouTube streaming helped reduce the internet bandwidth required by students. Both these ideas were inspired by the small group discussions at the conference.

Marlon Matilla, Pulaski County Special School District

CIRCLS has fostered a collaborative, ethics-centered approach that has greatly enhanced my ability to develop inclusive and impactful Al educational tools for diverse learning environments.

My CIRCLS Teacher Fellowship has profoundly shaped my work, enriching my expertise in ethical Al education. Co-presenting the webinar Navigating Ethical Al: Interactive Lessons and Equitable Practices for Educators has been a highlight of my professional journey with CIRCLS. Presenting at a roundtable during the 2023 CIRCLS Convening allowed me to exchange and refine ideas on equitable practices in both education and Al. Additionally, participating in CIRCLS-led mock review panels sharpened my critical evaluation skills, which I applied in co-designing Al education resources with Stanford’s CRAFT initiative. CIRCLS has fostered a collaborative, ethics-centered approach that has greatly enhanced my ability to develop inclusive and impactful Al educational tools for diverse learning environments.

Teon Edwards, TERC

Young, learner stakeholder voices need to be part of our work and part of gatherings like this. For me, personally, these young people, their perspectives, their ideas, and their journeys have been the most impactful learning of my recent NSF-funded work.

In the fall of 2023, four neurodivergent young people were part of the CIRCLS 23 Convening, directly involving learners in this professional event. They presented a Youth Panel, sharing their experiences working as co-designers on projects about AR/VR technologies for neurodiverse audiences, and they attended other presentations and sessions, mingled, and networked with other attendees. Several colleagues and I coordinated bringing these young people to the convening, believing in its importance for both the youth and the rest of us. Young, learner stakeholder voices need to be part of our work and part of gatherings like this. For me, personally, these young people, their perspectives, their ideas, and their journeys have been the most impactful learning of my recent NSF-funded work. To quote one of these young co-designers, “I never enjoyed doing group work as much as I did with you all.” I couldn’t agree more.

Keunjae Kim, Indiana University

The most impactful outcomes from our learning technology work involve implementing co-designed curricula with teachers, using physical computing tools, AI models with ML, and programming, all aligned with Indiana’s Science, STEM, and CS standards.

The most impactful outcomes from our learning technology work involve implementing co-designed curricula with teachers, using physical computing tools, AI models with ML, and programming, all aligned with Indiana’s Science, STEM, and CS standards. This approach has enabled students to express their understanding in diverse ways, deepening their knowledge and attitudes toward AI through interactive, hands-on experiences such as coding and AI-driven projects. Through this work, we have successfully increased participation among underrepresented groups in rural elementary and middle schools and made strides in addressing gender disparities in STEM+C education. Recognized with the 2024 Outstanding Journal Article Award from AECT, this work has demonstrated how tangible computing tools can significantly enhance elementary students’ AI knowledge. Moving forward, I plan to build on these experiences by furthering co-design, equitable technology integration, and community engagement to create inclusive learning opportunities that empower all students to actively shape the future of technology.

David Lockett, Meharry School of Applied Computational Sciences

“The Meharry SACS NSF projects yielded significant insights into the ethical considerations and trustworthiness of AI in scientific research and education.

Key impactful learnings include:

1. Enhanced understanding of how to develop and implement AI systems that are both ethical and trustworthy in scientific applications
2. Improved strategies for addressing bias and ensuring fairness in AI algorithms used in research and educational contexts
3. Development of frameworks for responsible AI governance that can be applied across various scientific disciplines
4. Increased awareness and skills among researchers and students in critically evaluating the ethical implications of AI in their work.

These outcomes have contributed to advancing the responsible use of AI in science while fostering trust in AI-driven research and educational tools.”

Kip Glazer, Mountain View High School

I have enjoyed providing my feedback from a practitioner’s perspective while learning from the researchers about their focus on creating a better tool for all types of learners.

Because I had a front-row seat to the development of new learning technology tools, I learned a great deal about the focus of the National Science Foundation(NSF)’s mission of exploration and discovery. I appreciate their focus on expanding the learning science field while engaging the practitioners to create a more significant impact in the education field. I have enjoyed providing my feedback from a practitioner’s perspective while learning from the researchers about their focus on creating a better tool for all types of learners. For example, it’s typical for a project, a blog, or a webinar to feature both researchers and practitioners so that both are able to showcase their expertise while enhancing the quality of the final product.