Cornell teacher participates in AI fellowship program

Cornell Middle School science teacher Amanda Sappie is making a difference in the classroom, with a little help from artificial intelligence.

Each year, Cornell teachers are given the opportunity to select a pathway they’ll follow as part of their professional development throughout the course of the academic year.

Sappie chose the AI pathway and was presented with the opportunity to apply for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s AI fellowship program.

As one of only 20 Allegheny County teachers chosen, she and the other fellows spent one year meeting monthly, learning a variety of tools and strategies and conducting action research.

When she noticed a disparity between her students’ verbal versus written understanding of science topics, she wondered if AI could help bridge that gap.

So, she decided to use a software tool called Class Companion, to give students personalized feedback in real time on their science writing. “It uses my rubric and my input. It’s like having 20 of me in the class at one time,” she said. 

She found student scores improved considerably with the use of AI. “So I had great data that individualized feedback in real time is something that can really help students flourish,” she said.

Now, other Cornell teachers are using Class Companion for writing preparation for AP history. Another middle school teacher is using it for writing essays in English class and yet another is using it to assess explanations for math problems.

According to Sappie, the AI fellowship far exceeded her expectations and was one of the most informational and educational and engaging things for her as a teacher. “Something that’s so important is to always be trying new things because it’s very easy to get caught up in the monotony of the day-to-day,” she said.

The fellowship culminated in a May 5 conference at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit at the Waterfront, where Sappie was asked to give a lightning talk and breakout session on her findings.

“I showed them some of my assignments and the insight Class Companion gives me so I can personalize learning a little bit better,” she said.

When asked what she would say to AI skeptics, Sappie pointed out in the ever changing world of articial intelligence “that is the question of the hour right now, but I think for me the best thing to do is just try it. The worst that could happen is you don’t like the way you use it and then you try something different,” she said.