Making learning inclusive for all
09 Sep 2024
Dr Zhang Huiyu leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to customise lessons to suit a range of student needs. Her readily accessible chatbot builder – just one of the few examples of how she optimises technology for learning – has been adopted by other polytechnics as well.
Dr Zhang is a Senior Academic Mentor, and lecturer from the School of Informatics & IT at Temasek Polytechnic and a finalist of the 2024 President’s Award for Teachers.
Pick any moment and you would likely catch Dr Zhang in the midst of a brainstorm. The former research scientist at A*STAR enjoys cooking up new ideas to use AI to augment education. As a lecturer in Data Science subjects, she supports teachers in developing data-driven differentiated instruction and students in pursuing further education or employment in data-related fields
Inspiration: Working towards equal opportunity through the use of technology
At A*STAR, Dr Zhang used to supervise students during their industry attachments. She noticed a trend: while they had knowledge in cutting-edge technologies or passion for research, what they lacked were workplace skills and confidence.
This prompted her to embark on her teaching career, and focus on polytechnic students, who are on the cusp of entering the workforce. Beyond young graduates, she also engages older students who are returning to school to complete their studies or upskilling themselves through Continuing Education and Training (CET) courses. This fits her belief that all students deserve an equal opportunity to excel.
In the Analytics in Education project implemented across the Polytechnics and ITE, Dr Zhang created predictive analytics tools that capture student interactions with AI tools, to anticipate their learning pathways and needs. This enables educators to customise lessons that target specific learning needs and allow students to learn at their own pace.
Transformation: Using AI to develop soft skills
In her quest to elevate the education landscape, Dr Zhang created code-free AI chatbot builder to enable lecturers and administrators without programming skills to adopt AI in their work.
The idea for creating a chatbot emerged from the challenges faced by colleagues across various schools and disciplines, who shared a key issue of enhancing student engagement.
Thanks to her chatbot builder, students can be engaged in learning whenever and wherever. The chatbots provide timely response to students’ queries and recommends practice questions to further strengthen learners’ understanding.
“The smoother and more available the interaction, the more eager, inquisitive and expressive the student is also geared up to be” says Dr Zhang.
To date, Dr Zhang has created 13 chatbots, which have benefitted nearly 5,000 learners and 80 lecturers across three polytechnics. The chatbot builder was licensed to a local edtech company in 2023.
The chatbot initiative is also a launchpad for careers: Dr Zhang engages students as interns on these projects, giving them a platform to level up their tech and data science capabilities. “The projects are aligned with industry trends, so when we bring students in, they will be trained in the latest IT skills,” she assures.
Dr Zhang also uses AI to cultivate soft skills that are generally difficult to measure. In a cross-disciplinary effort, she developed the Skills Navigator app to help students from the Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management to enhance their “superhost” DNA. The app brings out the qualities that would serve them well as hosts in the hospitality industry. “Their growth mindset, ethics, integrity and professional communication were mapped out in a gamified way,” she explains.
“Our students need to know they have to be proficient in their knowledge domain because the products they create will have significant impact on people’s lives.”
According to her team’s research, empathy is a key quality required even more in students from this sector compared to other fields. The programme enables students to visualise their growth through an “empathy tree”. As they progress through their list of tasks and activities, the bare branches of their tree fill up with leaves and eventually bloom with flowers. Best of all, students can download their skills journey as a portfolio to add to their resumes.
Reflection: Students need to understand the impact of their work
Dr Zhang credits the success of her chatbot initiatives to her colleagues’ spirit of lifelong learning. They aren’t afraid to explore new technologies and methodologies to keep pace with the ever-evolving educational landscape, she says.
She also taps on her research background to mentor colleagues interested in educational innovation, by inviting them to join her as co-Principal Investigators on projects.
Whether she is teaching coding or data analytics, she reminds her students that they need to see the value of their skills and take pride in good work.
When teaching students about developing machine learning models, she emphasises the importance of considering both the benefits and risks. If a model incorrectly predicts risk levels, it could lead to unfair decisions. She guides students to focus on fairness, test for biases, use diverse data, and being transparent about how the model works.
She adds, “Our students need to know they have to be proficient in their knowledge domain because the products they create will have significant impact on people’s lives.”
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