Artificial intelligence and multimodal data in the service of human decision-making: A case study in debate tutoring

The question: “What is an appropriate role for AI?” is the subject of much discussion and interest. Arguments about whether AI should be a human replacing technology or a human assisting technology frequently take centre stage. Education is no exception when it comes to questions about the role that AI should play, and as with many other professional areas, the exact role of AI in education is not easy to predict. Here, we argue that one potential role for AI in education is to provide opportunities for human intelligence augmentation, with AI supporting us in decision-making processes, rather than replacing us through automation. To provide empirical evidence to support our argument, we present a case study in the context of debate tutoring, in which we use prediction and classification models to increase the transparency of the intuitive decision-making processes of expert tutors for advanced reflections and feedback. Furthermore, we compare the accuracy of unimodal and multimodal classification models of expert human tutors' decisions about the social and emotional aspects of tutoring while evaluating trainees. Our results show that multimodal data leads to more accurate classification models in the context we studied.     

Effects of developmental relationships with teachers on middle-school students’ motivation and performance

We examined how middle-school students’ motivation, belonging, school climate, and grade point average (GPA) are affected by students experiencing developmental relationships—those that go beyond teachers being caring (e.g., showing warmth to students) and providing challenge (e.g., high expectations) to also include teachers providing support, sharing power, and expanding students’ sense of possibilities. We also examined variations in those associations by student socioeconomic status (SES). The study included 534 diverse Grades 6–8 students (51% female, 46% non-White, 33% eligible for free and reduced price meals). Structural equation modeling and regressions showed that students with better developmental relationships with their teachers had better outcomes. Developmental relationships strongly predicted academic motivation at both the beginning and end of the school year, and also directly predicted students’ sense of belonging and school climate. Relationships indirectly predicted GPA, through motivation. Student–teacher relationship quality for low-SES students was lower and declined more than for other students. The results both reflect current literature in showing the importance of strong student–teacher relationships, and extend it in showing the worsening relationships quality for low-income students, and in suggesting that strengthening multiple facets of student–teacher developmental relationships may have important effects on motivation and achievement of middle-school students.     

Multimodal Literacies in Science: Currency, Coherence and Focus

Since the 1990s, researchers have increasingly drawn attention to the multiplicity of representations used in science. This issue of RISE advances this line of research by placing such representations at the centre of science teaching and learning. The authors show that representations do not simply transmit scientific information; they are integral to reasoning about scientific phenomena. This focus on thinking with representations mediates between well-resolved representations and formal reasoning of disciplinary science, and the capacity-limited, perceptually-driven nature of human cognition. The teaching practices described here build on three key principles: Each representation is interpreted through others; natural language is a sign system that is used to interpret a variety of other kinds of representations; and this chain of signs or representations is ultimately grounded in bodily experiences of perception and action. In these papers, the researchers provide examples and analysis of teachers scaffolding students in using representations to construct new knowledge, and in constructing new representations to express and develop their knowledge. The result is a new delineation of the power and the challenges of teaching science with multiple representations.     

Boundary dilemmas in teacher–student relationships: Struggling with “the line”

The teacher–student relationship is viewed as integral to successful teaching and learning but, outside of a few exceptions, ethical boundary issues in this relationship have not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perspectives of their relationships with their students as well as how they described and negotiated relationship boundaries. Findings were organised into a typology of 11 categories of boundaries. The balance between demonstrating care while maintaining a healthy, productive level of control in the classroom was a recurring theme when discussing the boundaries.     

婚姻有爱贫亦富

我的父亲有四个女儿,他在我们选择丈夫的问题上并没有多少发言权,对他真是不幸,包办子女婚姻的日子一去不复返了。     

What your patient reads: creating a value-added tool for physicians

Through a number of media sources, today's consumers have unprecedented access to health information of varying reliability and authority. Empowered by this information, patients are more involved in their health care decisions and more willing to question physicians' advice. This poses a challenge for physicians who must now find time to read mass media health reports in addition to medical research. In order to help physicians with this task, librarians at the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries created What Your Patient Reads - one-page summaries of health-related media reports supplemented with references to evidence-based medical literature.     

Algorithms: avoiding the implementation of institutional biases

ABSTRACT

Computer algorithms, the logic and code that power automated decision-making programs, increasingly dominate many aspects of modern society. There are already many examples of institutional biases – including ideological bias, racism, sexism, ableism – being solidified in algorithms, causing harm to already underprivileged populations. This article explores library-specific and society-wide examples as well as efforts to prevent the implementation of these biases in the future.     

Across the campuses and around the globe: Reaching online learners through high-level embedded librarianship

In response to strategic and administrative goals, a large R1 public university with 24 campuses developed a programmatic embedded librarian pilot in 2016. This pilot provided high-level embedded librarianship to a growing online education program with learners located domestically and abroad. Embedded teams included librarians at regional campuses, instructional designers, and course faculty. Together the teams created new support systems and resources for online learners. This case study offers reflections and considerations for a team-based approach to high-level embedded librarianship online. Ultimately, the authors determined that successful programmatic embedded librarianship must be strategic and intentional with carefully cultivated, team-designed courses.