Research number: P-EDU-23-25
Research duration: 17/03/2025–01/10/2027.
Research value: 499 800 Eur.
Research supervisor: Prof. dr. Liudmila Rupšienė.
Research team consists of 4 chief investigators (dr. Liudmila Rupšienė, dr. Rūta Girdzijauskienė, dr. Julija Melnikova, dr. Tony Burner), 2 senior researchers (dr. Eglė Pranckūnienė, dr. Gražina Šmitienė), researchers (dr. Sandrita Škerienė, Sigitas Balčiūnas) and junior researchers – doctoral students Rūta Gedminienė (Klaipėda University) and Airidas Kairys (Ioannina University, Greece).
The aim of the research
Although formative assessment based on artificial intelligence in general education schools is extremely innovative and promising, both in Lithuania and worldwide, it is still in its infancy and raises many questions and challenges for teachers, education policymakers, researchers, and the general public. Taking this problem into account, the aim of the research –to reveal the main factors of formative assessment enhanced by artificial intelligence and their impact on students’ motivation to learn, self-regulation, and relationships with teachers and classmates.
Research activities
- The multi-layered contexts of artificial intelligence-enhanced formative assessment are revealed:
- by analysing studies on artificial intelligence-enhanced formative assessment in general education schools;
- by analysing international informative and legal documents on formative assessment and the use of artificial intelligence in general education schools;
- by analysing Lithuanian regulatory documents on formative assessment and the use of artificial intelligence in general education schools;
- by conducting a secondary analysis of data on formative assessment and the use of artificial intelligence in general education schools;
- by analysing the possibilities of using artificial intelligence technologies that are widespread in Lithuania in terms of formative assessment and consulting with the developers and/or experts of these technologies.
- The extent to which Lithuanian teachers’ value orientations, knowledge, and skills provide the basis for effective, meaningful, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment is determined, as well as how they relate to teachers’ views on formative assessment:
- by theoretically justifying what values, knowledge, and skills teachers need in order to use artificial intelligence effectively, meaningfully, and ethically in formative assessment;
- by theoretically justifying the construct of teachers’ attitudes toward formative assessment;
- by conducting a survey of teachers in general education schools.
- Revealing how teachers’ formative assessment practices change when they use artificial intelligence, and what impact such changing practices have on students’ motivation to learn, self-regulation, and relationships with teachers and other students:
- by training 30 teachers to use artificial intelligence effectively, meaningfully, and ethically in formative assessment;
- by involving trained teachers in a quasi-experiment in which they will use artificial intelligence to reinforce the formative assessment of students;
- by conducting pre- and post-tests in control and experimental classes, where formative assessment will be reinforced by artificial intelligence, in order to determine the impact of such formative assessment on students’ motivation to learn, self-regulation, relationships with teachers and other students;
- by observing, recording, and analysing the lessons of teachers participating in the quasi-experiment, in which artificial intelligence is used to reinforce formative assessment;
- by interviewing teachers participating in the quasi-experiment about changes in educational practice when formative assessment is reinforced by artificial intelligence.
Research results
Theoretical (published in research reports, scientific articles, and announcements):
- the multi-layered contexts of formative assessment enhanced by artificial intelligence are revealed;
- the extent to which Lithuanian teachers’ value orientations, knowledge, and skills provide the basis for effective, meaningful, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment and how they relate to teacher’ views on formative assessment is determined;
- how teachers’ formative assessment practices change when they use artificial intelligence, and what impact such changing practices have on students’ motivation to learn, self-regulation, and relationships with teachers and other students is revealed.
Practical:
- 30 teachers will learn how to use artificial intelligence effectively, meaningfully, and ethically in formative assessment; the skills they gain will have long-term value for their professional practice;
- students of at least 30 classes in various regions of the country will experience the impact of formative assessment enhanced by artificial intelligence on learning motivation, self-regulation, and relationships with teachers and other students;
- three professional development programmes will be developed, enabling teachers in general education schools to improve their skills so that they can use artificial intelligence to enhance formative assessment; the programmes will be available on the Klaipeda University website (ku.lt) and other national websites;
- a freely accessible remote interactive learning tool, Artificial Intelligence in Formative Assessment at School (available at di-ma.lt website), will be developed for teachers in general education schools who wish to use artificial intelligence to enhance their formative assessment practices. The tool will provide teachers with guidelines for formative assessment enhanced by artificial intelligence, supplemented by lesson plans created by teachers, examples of the application of formative assessment strategies, and educational video clips;
- teacher training at Klaipeda University will be expanded: the basic study programme in education will be supplemented with topics on formative assessment and artificial intelligence; an optional module on the use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment will be created for students in the basic study programme; a freely selectable module on formative assessment enhanced by artificial intelligence will be created for students of master’s degree programmes in Education and Educational Management. Descriptions of the study modules will be available to all education programme providers on the ku.lt website.
- based on the theoretical and empirical research results, three announcements will be prepared for education policymakers: on international and national trends in the use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment, on the (non)application of formative assessment practices in Lithuanian schools, and on the value orientations, knowledge, and skills of Lithuanian teachers, ensuring the effective, meaningful, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment;
- based on theoretical and empirical research, recommendations will be prepared for education policymakers regarding the training and professional development of teachers in general education schools supplementing the teacher competency system with value orientations, knowledge, and skills that would create the conditions for effective, meaningful, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment;
- the results of the research will be presented and widely disseminated in reports at national and international conferences, at the Lithuanian Educational Research Association forum, in research flashes on the LETA website, and at the final project conference.
Impact of the research on educational practice
The practical value of the research results is likely to be seen in evidence-based changes in the use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment in Lithuanian general education schools, as well as in the creation of support measures for target groups in education, which will help to implement the planned changes in a sustainable manner.
Internationality of the project
During the project, close collaboration with the creators and developers of LearnLab (Norway) is planned. This learning experience platform will be used during the quasi-experiment. It is planned to be provided for 10 schools participating in the quasi-experiment, and at least 30 teachers will be trained to use it to strengthen formative assessment of students. LearnLab representatives will participate in the project as experts, consultants, and teacher trainers. It is planned that five project researchers (including one doctoral student and her supervisor) will participate in an internship at the LearnLab centre in Norway, where they will learn about the latest achievements of this learning experience platform, observe lessons in which it is employed, and will discuss with Norwegian teachers who use LearnLab in their work and the trainers who teach them.
Another international cooperation centre is determined outside of Europe. Contacts will be established with scientists from a high-level research centre who are interested in collaboration. A visit to this university by five project researchers (including one doctoral student and his supervisor) is planned. All activities during the visit will focus on the use of artificial intelligence in education, with a particular emphasis on formative assessment.
The project plans to bring together two networks of researchers interested in artificial intelligence-enhanced formative assessment. One network connects European researchers, the other is global. It is expected that researchers from both networks will collaborate, share their achievements, and meet for discussions at two symposia at European scientific conferences and two at global scientific conferences outside Europe. The symposiums will be organized by the project researchers; the topic of the symposiums will be artificial intelligence-enhanced formative assessment.
Working together in research networks, the project researchers plan to collaborate on joint studies focusing on the use of artificial intelligence in formative assessment.
At the end of the project, two international networking reports will be produced (European and global), which will include the latest European and global trends in the use of AI for formative assessment, results of the joint studies, and recommendations for Lithuanian education research, practice, and policy.
