Talking Math: WPI Researcher Neil Heffernan Leads Effort To Develop AI Math Tutor
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Neil Heffernan has been awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Institute of Education Sciences to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tutor that can help middle-school students learn math while doing homework.
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Neil Heffernan has been awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Institute of Education Sciences to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tutor that can help middle-school students learn math while doing homework.
- The project will integrate the AI tutor into ASSISTments, a free digital learning platform that has been used by more than 1 million students across the country and was developed by Heffernan and his wife, Cristina Heffernan, a former math teacher.
- “Tutors are very effective at helping students learn math and succeed in class, but the cost of private tutoring services is beyond students from low-income backgrounds,” Neil Heffernan said.
- “This leads to a persistent learning gap between lower-income students and students from families that can afford tutoring.