Research and Development

The program of research focuses on developing and refining the AIRE tool for improving early literacy outcomes. First, the research team will develop a more fine-grained understanding about independent reading practices and materials in K–2 classrooms and conduct user-centered studies to understand teachers’ AI use and perspectives to inform AIRE tool development. During the subsequent tool design phase, the research team will develop a prototype of AIRE by leveraging the best AI technologies identified, including large-language model based generative AI, conversational agents, and children’s spoken language understanding. In addition, the research team will conduct formative user studies that will continue through the succeeding project years. When AIRE is fully developed, the research team will engage in a pilot study to test the effectiveness of AIRE for improving K–2 students’ literacy outcomes, as well as AIRE’s usability, feasibility, and fidelity to drive the iterative improvement of AIRE.