Revitalizing education in rural and small schools: The role of AI in teachers' professional development

Main Article Content

Giuseppina Rita Jose Mangione
Michelle Pieri
Francesca De Santis

Abstract

The article explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and the professional development of teachers, with a focus on small and rural schools. Following a scoping review conducted by the research group, the focus is placed on the analysis of three studies, each pertaining to three subtopics within the theme “AI and teacher professional development” that emerged from the mapping: the use of intelligent environments for teacher training, teachers’ perceptions of AI solutions to support their practice, and the development of intelligent agents to assist teaching. The research emphasizes the importance of teacher training in addressing the challenges posed by AI to bridge the gap between urban and rural schools. This opens to future scenarios that will be explored through interviews with national and international experts and a Delphi Study, aimed at identifying opportunities for small schools and developing guidelines to achieve convergence on potential interventions in non-standard educational contexts.

Article Details

Section
Articles - Special Issue

References

Ahmed, A. A., & Ganapathy, A. (2021). Creation of automated content with embedded artificial intelligence: A study on learning management system for educational entrepreneurship. Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 27(3), 1-10.
Albacete, P., Jordan, P., Katz, S., Chounta, I.A., & McLaren, B. M. (2019). The impact of student model updates on contingent scaffolding in a natural-language tutoring system. In International conference on artificial intelligence in education (pp. 37–47). Springer.
Al-Zyoud, H. M. (2020). The role of artificial intelligence in teacher professional development. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11B), 6263-6272.
Azano, A. P., Downey, J., & Brenner, D. (2019). Preparing pre-service teachers for rural schools. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.
Baker, T., & Smith, L. (2019). Educ-AI-tion rebooted? Exploring the future of artificial intelligence in schools and colleges. Retrieved from: https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/educationrebooted/ (ver. 13.06.2023).
Biswas, G., Leelawong, K., Schwartz, D., Vye, N., & The Teachable Agents Group at Vanderbilt. (2005). Learning by teaching: A new agent paradigm for educational software. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 19(3–4), 363–392.
Bridle, J. (2018). New dark age: technology and the end of the future. Verso Books.
Cannella, G., Mangione, G. R. J., & Rivoltella P. C. (Eds.). (2021). A scuola nelle piccole scuole. Storia, metodi, didattiche. Morcelliana Scholè.
Capuano, N., Mangione, G. R. J., & Salerno, S. (2013). ALICE: Adaptive learning via interactive, collaborative and emotional approaches. In J. Jovanovic, & R. Chiong (Eds.), Technological and Social Environments for Interactive Learning (pp. 121-172). Informing Science Press.
Celik, I., Dindar, M., Muukkonen, H., & Järvelä, S. (2022). The promises and challenges of artificial intelligence for teachers: A systematic review of research. TechTrends, 66(4), 616-630.
Chin, K. Y., Wu, C. H., & Hong, Z. W. (2011). A humanoid robot as a teaching assistant for primary education. 2011 Fifth International Conference on Genetic and Evolutionary Computing, 21–24.
China’s State Council. (2017). A new generation artificial intelligence development plan. https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/full-translation-chinas-new-generation-artificial-intelligence-development-plan-2017/
Collins, T. (1999). Attracting and retaining teachers in rural areas. ERIC Digest.
Chounta, I.A. (2019). A review of the state-of-art of the use of machine-learning and artificial intelligence by educational portals and oer repositories (white paper).
Chounta, I. A., Bardone, E., Raudsep, A., & Pedaste, M. (2022). Exploring teachers’ perceptions of artificial intelligence as a tool to support their practice in estonian K-12 education. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(3), 725–755.
Dahl, T. S., & Kamel Boulos, M. N. (2013). Robots in health and social care: A complementary technology to home care and telehealthcare? Robotics, 3(1), 1–21. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics3010001
Di Tore, P. A., Mangione, G. R. J., Di Tore, S., & Aiello, P. (2013). Human machine interaction, embodied cognition and phenomenology: the body in digital storytelling. Learning & Teaching with Media & Technology, 1, 448-459.
Duncan, H. E., & Stock M. J. (2010). Mentoring and Coaching Rural School Leaders: What Do They Need? Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18(3), 293-311.
Edwards, B. I., & Cheok, A. D. (2018). Why not robot teachers: Artificial intelligence for addressing teacher shortage. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 32(4), 345–360.
EU (2023). Teachers’ competences. Briefing report No. 1 European Digital Education Hub’s squad on artificial intelligence in education (in press).
Fargas-Malet, M., & Bagley, C. (2022). Is Small Beautiful? A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe. European Educational Research Journal, 21(5), 822-844.
Ferraro, F. V., Ambra, F. I., Aruta L., & Iavarone, M. L. (2020). Distance Learning in the Covid-19 Era: Perceptions in Southern Italy. Education Sciences, 10(12), 355.
Francom, G. M. (2016). Barriers to technology use in large and small school districts. Journal of Information Technology Education. Research, 15, 577.
Füller, C., & Spiewak, M. (2020). Digitale Hausaufgabe. Die Zeit, 37, 38.
Fuster, M., & Burns, T. (2020). Back to the future of education: Four OECD scenarios for schooling. OECD iLibrary. https://www.oecd.org/education/back-to-the-future-s-of-education-178ef527-en.htm
Goodpaster, K. P., Adedokun, O. A., & Weaver, G. C. (2012). Teachers’ perceptions of rural STEM Teaching: Implications for Rural Teacher Retention. The Rural Educator, 33(3).
Green, R. A. (2014). The Delphi technique in educational research. Sage Open, 4(2).
Handal, B., Watson, K., Petocz, P., & Maher, M. (2018). Choosing to teach in rural and remote schools: The zone of free movement. Education Research and Perspectives, 45, 1-32.
Hannum, W. H., Irvin, M. J., Banks, J. B., & Farmer T. W. (2009). Distance education use in rural schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 24(3), 1.
Hargreaves, L. M. (2009). Respect and Responsibility: Review of Research on Small Rural Schools in England. International Journal of Educational Research, 48(2), 117-128.
Hawkes, M., Halverson, P., & Brockmueller, B. (2002). Technology facilitation in the rural school: An Analysis of Options. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 17(3), 162-170.
Heffernan, N.T., & Heffernan, C .L. (2014). The assistments ecosystem: building a platform that brings scientists and teachers together for minimally invasive research on human learning and teaching. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 24(4), 470–497.
Hinojo-Lucena, F. J., Aznar-Díaz, I., Cáceres-Reche, M. P., & Romero-Rodríguez, J. M. (2019). Artificial intelligence in higher education: A bibliometric study on its impact in the scientific literature. Education Sciences, 9(1), 51.
Holstein, K., McLaren, B. M., & Aleven, V. (2017). Intelligent Tutors as Teachers’ Aides: Exploring Teacher Needs for Real-time Analytics in Blended Classrooms. Proceedings of the seventh international learning analytics & knowledge conference, 257-266.
Howley, A., Wood, L., & Hough, B. (2011). Rural Elementary School Teachers’ Technology Integration. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 29(9), 1-18.
Ingersoll, M., Hirschkorn, M., Landine, J., & Sears, A. (2018). Recruiting international educators in a global teacher shortage: Research for practice. The International Schools Journal, 37(2), 92–102.
Lucisano, P. (2020). Fare ricerca con gli insegnanti. I primi risultati dell’indagine nazionale SIRD. Per un confronto sulle modalità didattica a distanza adottate nelle scuole italiane nel periodo di emergenza COVID-19. Lifelong Lifewide Learning, 17(36), 3-25.
Jian, L. (2020). Improving teacher development in rural China: A Case of “Rural Teacher Support Plan”. Beijing International Review of Education, 2(2), 301-306.
Jiang, C. (2021). Technical framework and model of artificial intelligence for boosting the revitalization of rural education. 2021 2nd International Seminar on Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Information Technology (AINIT), 107–110.
Kaden, U. (2020). COVID-19 School closure-related changes to the professional life of a K–12 teacher. Education Sciences, 10(6), 165.
Kale, U., Goh, D. (2014). Teaching style, ICT experience and teachers’ attitudes toward teaching with Web 2.0. Education and Information Technologies, 19(1), 41-60.
Kormos, E. M. (2018). The Unseen Digital Divide: Urban, Suburban, and Rural Teacher Use and Perceptions of Web-Based Classroom Technologies. Computers in the Schools, 35(1), 19-31.
Kuleto, V., Ilić, M., Dumangiu, M., Ranković, M., Martins, O. M. D., Păun, D., & Mihoreanu, L. (2021). Exploring Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Higher Education Institutions. Sustainability, 13(18), 10424.
Kusmawan, U. (2023). Redefining teacher training: The promise of ai-supported teaching practices. Journal of Advances in Education and Philosophy, 332–335. https://doi.org/10.36348/jaep.2023.v07i09.001
Laferrière, T., Hamel, C., Allaire, S., Turcotte, S., Breuleux, A., Beaudoin, J., & Gaudreault Perron, J. (2011). L’ecole eloignee en reseau, un modele. Rapport-synthèse, CEFRIO.
Li, J., Shi, Z., & Xue, E. (2020). The problems, needs and strategies of rural teacher development at deep poverty areas in China: Rural schooling stakeholder perspectives. International Journal of Educational Research, 99, 101496.
Liu, Y., Chen, L., & Yao, Z. (2022). The application of artificial intelligence assistant to deep learning in teachers’ teaching and students’ learning processes. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.
Lowe, J. M. (2006). Rural education: Attracting and retaining teachers in small schools. Rural Educator, 27(2), 28-32.
Luckin, R. (2017). Towards artificial intelligence-based assessment systems. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(3), 1–3.
Mangione, G. R. J. (2013). Istruzione adattiva: approcci, tecniche e tecnologie. Lecce: Pensa.
Mangione, G. R. J., & Calzone, S. (2019). The Italian Small School Toward Smart Pedagogy. A Cross-Reading of Opportunities Provided by the National Operational Program (PON) “For Schools 2014–2020–Skills and Learning Environments”. Didactics of Smart Pedagogy: Smart Pedagogy for Technology Enhanced Learning, 233-252.
Mangione, G. R. J., Calzone, S., & Bagattini, D. (2017a). Digital Environments for Small Schools. the Enhancement of Laboratory Spaces within a Renewed Classroom Concept. Form@ re-Open Journal per la formazione in rete, 17(3), 83-100.
Mangione, G. R. J., Garzia, M., & Pettenati, M. C. (2017b). Neoassunti nelle piccole scuole. Sviluppo di competenza e professionalità didattica. Formazione & Insegnamento, 14(3), 287-306.
Mangione, G. R. J., & Cannella, G. (2021). Small School, Smart Schools: Distance Education in Remoteness Conditions. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, (26), 845-865.
Mangione, G. R. J., Fante, C., Della Mutta, E., & Benigno, V. (2023). Exploring Educational Practices for Non-Standard Didactic Situations in Small Schools. In E. Podovšovnik, T. De Giuseppe, & F. Corona (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Establishing Digital Competencies in the Pursuit of Online Learning. (pp. 50-72). IGI Global.
Mangione, G. R. J., Gaeta, M., Gaeta, M., & Salerno, S. (2012). Apprendimento basato sulle Conversazioni nel Social Semantic Web. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society - Italian Version.
Mangione, G. R. J., Pieri, M., De Santis, F. (2023). Intelligenza artificiale ed educazione nei contesti rurali: una scoping review per orientare la ricerca. New literacies - Nuovi linguaggi, nuove competenze, Book of Abstracts. Brescia: Editrice Morcelliana.
Michinov, N., Morice, J., & Ferrières, V. (2015). A Step Further in Peer Instruction: Using the Stepladder Technique to Improve Learning. Computers & Education, 91, 1-13.
Mijwil, M. M., Aggarwal, K., Mutar, D. S., Mansour, N., & Singh, R. S. S. (2022). The Position of Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Education: An Overview. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(2).
Miller, R. (2018). Transforming the future: Anticipation in the 21st century (p. 300). Taylor & Francis.
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2018). Education Informatization 2.0 Action Plan.
Mitchell, R., Hampton, P., & Mambwe, R. (2022). Teacher Futures: Global Reaction to Teacher Shortages in Rural Locations. IAFOR Journal of Education, 10(3), 9-30.
Mitchell, R., Olsen, A. W., Hampton, P., Hicks, J., Long, D., & Olsen, K. (2019). Rural Exposures: An Examination of Three Initiatives to Introduce and Immerse Preservice Teachers into Rural Communities and Rural Schools in the U.S. and Australia. The Rural Educator, 40(2), 12–22.
Panciroli, C. & Macauda, A. (2021). Intelligenza artificiale in una prospettiva educativo-didattica. In A. Di Pace, A. Fornasari, M. De Angelis (Eds.), Elementi di didattica post-digitale (pp. 37-44). FrancoAngeli.
Panciroli, C., & Rivoltella, P. C. (2023). Pedagogia algoritmica. Per una riflessione educativa sull’Intelligenza Artificiale. Morcelliana Scholè.
Park, E. A., Sinha, H., & Chong, J. (2007). Beyond Access: An Analysis of the Influence of the E-rate Program in Bridging the Digital Divide in American Schools. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 6(1), 387-406.
Pedró, F., Subosa, M., Rivas, A., & Valverde, P. (2019). Artificial Intelligence in Education: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development. Paris: Unesco.
Pieri, M., & Repetto, M. (2019). Piccola scuola come comunità educante. I QUADERNI DELLE PICCOLE SCUOLE, Anno 2019 - Quaderno N. 1 – Strumenti. Rimini: Maggioli editore.
Pieri, M. (2022). Classi in rete. Un modello innovativo per le piccole scuole. Lecce: Pensa Multimedia.
Powell, M., & Priestley, M. (2015). Teacher Agency: What is it and why does it matter? British Educational Research Association Blog, September. London: Routledge.
Qian, H., Youngs, P., Hu, S., & Prawat, X. J. (2020). Will China’s Free Teacher Education Policy Address Teacher Shortages in Rural Schools or Reproduce Existing Inequality? Compare, 50(5), 713–725.
Rundel, C., & Salemink, K. (2021). Bridging Digital Inequalities in Rural Schools in Germany: A Geographical Lottery? Education sciences, 11(4), 181.
Razia, B., Awwad, B., & Taqi, N. (2022). The Relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Aspects in Higher Education. Development and Learning in Organizations, 37(3), 21-23.
See, B. H., Morris, R., Gorard, S., & El Soufi, N. (2020). What Works in Attracting and Retaining Teachers in Challenging Schools and Areas? Oxford Review of Education, 46(6), 678-697.
Sindelar, P. T., Pua, D. J., Fisher, T., Peyton, D. J., Brownell, M. T., & Mason-Williams, L. (2018). The Demand for Special Education Teachers in Rural Schools Revisited: An Update on Progress. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 37(1), 12–20.
Sinha, R. & Swearingen, K. (2002). The role of transparency in recommender systems. CHI '02: CHI '02 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 830-831), New York, NY, USA: ACM.
Straub, I. (2016). ‘It Looks Like a Human!’ The Interrelation of Social Presence, Interaction and Agency Ascription: A Case Study about the Effects of an Android Robot on Social Agency Ascription. AI & SOCIETY, 31(4), 553–571.
Sundeen, T. H., & Sundeen, D. M. (2013). Instructional Technology for Rural Schools: Access and Acquisition. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(2), 8-14.
Tarus, J.K., Niu, & Z., Mustafa, G. (2018). Knowledge-based recommendation: a review of ontology-based recommender systems for e-learning. Artificial Intelligence Review, 50(1), 21–48.
UNESCO (2015). The Challenge of Teacher Shortage and Quality: HaveWe Succeeded in Getting Enough Quality Teachers into Classrooms? In 12th Session of the Joint ILO/UNESCO APPLIED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 359 Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations Concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART). Paris: GMR and UNESCO.
Verbert, K., Ochoa, X., De Croon, R., Dourado, R. A., & De Laet, T. (2020). Learning analytics dashboards: The past, the present and the future. In LAK 2020 Conference Proceedings - Celebrating 10 years of LAK: Shaping the Future of the Field - 10th International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge (pp. 35-40). (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3375462.3375504
Yan, S., & Yang, Y. (2021). Education Informatization 2.0 in China: Motivation, Framework, and Vision. ECNU Review of Education, 4(2), 410-428.
Yao, W. (2020). Educational Equity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence—Taking the Construction of Rural Teachers as an Example. US-China Education Review A, 10.
Wang, J., Tigelaar, D. E., & Admiraal, W. (2019). Connecting rural schools to quality education: Rural teachers’ use of digital educational resources. Computers in Human Behavior, 101, 68-76.
Zhang, X. (2015). Achievements and Difficulties in the Construction of Rural Small-scale School Teachers-Based on a Nationwide Survey of 1032 Rural Small-scale School Teachers. Journal of Suzhou University, 3(2), 85-92.