Partners in

Learning

Through research and instruction, we are improving society by preparing the people we serve to be lifelong learners with the necessary skills for the careers of the future.

With well-prepared teachers, students will have access to computer science (CS) education that teaches vital skills, including logical thinking and creative problem  solving. Maya Israel, Ph.D., is leading a team to close the CS skill gap in pre- and in-service teacher education. Through CSEveryone, her team is preparing teachers to incorporate CS education in their lessons — regardless of their subject area expertise. Funded by the Kenneth C. Griffin CS Education for All Initiative, they are developing a model for CS education to be used around the world.

OurTo improve the quality of education through personalization, assessment and increased student engagement, our researchers are exploring AI. We are connecting with global experts and industry partners to shape the future of education. This year, Seyedahmad Rahimi, Ph.D., convened leaders from NSF institutes and top-tier universities along with prominent tech professionals for a virtual AI in Education Workshop. We engaged with people from more than 40 countries who learned about AI theory, ethics and education — and how Khan Academy, Duolingo and ASSISTments already utilize this technology. Our applied solutions will transform the way we teach and learn. 

Putting theory into practice, the college’s E-Learning, Technology and Communications department is partnering with the UF College of Medicine on the AI-enabled Quality & Patient Safety initiative. Our instructional design experts are providing sound pedagogical foundations for online workforce development and training. Through this effort, we will prepare medical professionals to utilize AI to improve healthcare efficiency and effectiveness nationwide.

Researchers from the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies are making a transformative impact nationwide. They are partnering with the states of Florida, California, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Embedded Instruction for Early Learning professional development. These collaborations ensure that techniques like the 3R’s of Early Learning: Relationships, Repetition, Routines™ are improving the lives of more children than ever.

The newly established Prevention and Intervention Network (PIN) Center for Youth, Families, Schools, and Communities serves as UF’s translational research nexus for work supporting youths’ healthy development and well-being. Led by Joni Splett, Ph.D., the center is working to provide Florida’s students with the resources they need to become resilient adults. With $4.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the center has entered into a collaboration with Alachua County Public Schools. The project will expand school-based mental health services by increasing the ranks of state-credentialed graduates ready to fill school-based mental health positions. 

As part of the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute, Wanli Xing, Ph.D., is leading a team to develop scalable AI-augmented teachable agents with aims of doubling the rate of middle school math progress for low-income students. In the context of the Lastinger Center for Learning’s Math Nation students’ roles will be reshaped from passive learners into proactive teachers through large language models (LLMs) and other AI technologies using UF’s HiPerGator 3.0 supercomputer. 

Guided by the motto “for teachers, by teachers, with teachers,” UF Literacy Institute’s “UFLI Foundations” resonates with educators everywhere. Since publication, it has been adopted by instructors and districts on every continent except Antarctica. Over 200,000 manuals are in classrooms in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, every Canadian province and 47 other countries. Teachers worldwide share their successes and support each other in their Facebook group, which has over 150,000 members.