Giving Compass' Take:

· Kelli Anderson at EdSurge talks with Art Graesser and discusses the evolution of technology in education, explaining how intelligent tutoring systems imitate human tutors and provide customized instruction for deeper learning. 

· How has technology changed the way students learn? How is edtech helping students achieve more? 

· Read more about how equitable tutoring could help address learning loss from the pandemic. 

For 30 years, the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education has been one of the most prestigious awards in the field, honoring outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving education through innovative and successful approaches. The prize is awarded annually through an alliance between The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation, McGraw-Hill Education and Arizona State University.

This year, there were three prizes: for work in pre-K-12 education, higher education and a newly created prize, for learning science research.

From among hundreds of nominations, the award team gave the Learning Science Research prize to Arthur Graesser, Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis. Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, won the pre-K-12 award. The higher ed award honored Timothy Renick, Senior Vice President for Student Success and Professor of Religious Studies at Georgia State University. The three winners received an award of $50,000 each and an iconic McGraw Prize bronze sculpture.

At the University of Memphis, Dr. Graesser is developing intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), such as AutoTutor, a virtual tutor that helps students comprehend difficult concepts and manage their emotions as they tackle them. EdSurge spoke with him about ITS and how it encourages students to go beyond memorization and practice the concepts they’re learning. He highlighted crucial aspects of deep learning—why you don’t usually find it in traditional classrooms, how conflict and confusion can inspire it, why people don’t like it, and why it’s so important for today’s students to achieve it.

Read the full article about intelligent tutoring systems by Kelli Anderson at EdSurge.