USC Rossier Professor Yasemin Copur-Gencturk has been awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance her work in artificial intelligence (AI) and education and mathematics education.
The first NSF grant, $300,000 in supplemental funding, expands K–12 resources for AI education allowing her team to expand the reach of AI-assisted professional development practices developed to improve mathematics teaching and learning. The second grant, more than $380,000, is from the NSF STEM K–12 program to study teacher learning in AI-supported professional learning environments. The goal of this project is to develop a data-driven model of how teachers learn in AI-supported professional learning environments.
The two awards support each other: one extends access to an AI-assisted teacher professional development program, while the other develops a framework to understand how and why teacher learning happens. “These environments allow us to collect real-time data on teachers’ interactions and learning,” said Professor Copur-Gencturk. “We can examine the learning process in much greater detail and better understand how teachers develop their knowledge over time,”
A nationally recognized scholar, Copur-Gencturk’s research focuses on AI-powered innovations to strengthen how mathematics is taught in K–12 settings. She is the Katzman/Ernst Chair for Educational Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation and co-director of the USC STEM Center.
“Yasemin’s work is a model for how AI can strengthen good teaching,” said USC Rossier Dean Pedro Noguera. “Both NSF grants help to support her efforts for research-based teacher education.”
