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Researchers with the IU School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø will lead the education research as part of a five-year, $20 million grant recently awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the NSF AI Institute for Engaged Learning. This will allow researchers to create artificial intelligence-enabled technology that supports student and teacher agency in narrative-centered learning environments.

The renewal of EngageAI will leverage rapidly emerging AI technologies to realize the transformative potential of AI for K-12 education. The Institute will create innovative AI technologies that promote effective, AI-enabled learning and teaching for in- and out-of-school settings and contribute to the development of the future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. EngageAI will produce transformative advances in AI-enabled agency-centered learning and teaching by bringing together a team of multidisciplinary researchers from North Carolina State University, Indiana University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, as well as educational non-profit organization, Digital Promise. 

"I am excited to continue leading the educational research for the EngageAI Institute alongside NC State and our partner institutions,” said Professor Cindy Hmelo-Silver, co-Prinicipal Investigator on the project. “As the education lead, I am deeply committed to understanding how AI-augmented learning environments function in everyday classrooms and how they can make a meaningful difference for teachers and learners. Our work at IU focuses on studying the ways students and teachers engage with AI-supported tools and experiences, and how these environments can support collaboration, engagement,  problem solving, and deep learning. This renewal provides an exciting opportunity to design rich narrative contexts that engage students in tackling complex STEM problems together while creating authentic opportunities for inquiry, teamwork, and knowledge building. It also allows us to generate valuable real-world research insights that can inform the future of AI in education, support deep collaborative learning, and strengthen teacher and student agency across diverse learning environments.”

Hmelo-Silver is joined on the project team by Professor Gamze Ozogul and Assistant Professor Sijia Huang from the IU School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. In total, over $2 million of the grant will support efforts at IU.

“I am honored to join the second phase of the EngageAI Institute work alongside a brilliant interdisciplinary team from the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø at IU. By integrating rigorous instructional design and research with state-of-the-art AI, we will shape narrative-driven, agency-centered learning environments that empower K-12 students. Being at the intersection of innovative research and transformative instructional development allows us to reimagine how technology can meaningfully engage students and support learning outcomes,” Ozogul said.

"I’m thrilled to be part of the second phase of the EngageAI Institute and to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team across IU and partner institutions. This work provides a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of how students learn and engage in AI-supported learning environments, and to use those insights to inform effective teaching practices. By bringing together expertise in learning research, instructional design, and AI, we can develop meaningful, student-centered learning experiences while gaining a better understanding of how emerging technologies can support both teaching and learning,” Huang added. 

The new NSF grant allows the team to continue their important work in understanding and advancing AI use in classrooms through EngageAI, where the impacts of the first phase of the project were already felt. Amanda Moore is a teacher within the Avon Community School Corporation. 

“EngageAI has given me practical tools that make it easier to turn my ideas into meaningful, engaging learning experiences for students. Tools like SceneCraft allow me to take almost any topic and quickly transform it into an interactive game, giving students opportunities to learn through exploration and play. These resources save teachers time while expanding what we can create for our students, making innovative and engaging instruction more accessible to every classroom,” Moore said. 

Researchers at the IU School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø have been leading the way in studying how AI can benefit K-12 education through working on projects involving local schools and creating frameworks to help advance advancing an ethical, transparent, and human-centered approach to generative AI in education.