In looking at different ways neuroscience research is being either used in the classroom already, or being developed for use in the classroom, I became interested in looking at new ways Artifical Intelligence can be used. 

In this TED Talk, neuroscientist Scott Bolland discusses the idea that humans are hardwired to not just learn, but to gain satisfaction and pleasure from learning. He states that "There is a mismatch between the way learning is taught and the way the brain naturally learns." In part, much of this goes back to the standard bell curve as far as learners in a classroom. The kids at the top are "bored" and disengaged, the kids at the bottom are frustrated and disengaged. Then there are the ones somewhere on either side, also disengaged. Bowman states that 63% of kids are disengaged in the learning process. The few in the meaty part of that curve are the ones who are pushing just enough out of their comfort zone to actually learn. 

So, how do we fix this? Bolland's thought is to make learning much more individulaized. This, of course, is nothing new. As teachers, we work hard everyday to try to make learning as individual as possible. This is challenging of course. 

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a role in allowing some of the lower end, rote memory tasks be aided by the computer. Teachers input and personalize, but the AI assisits from there. There is also a mention of gamification within this setting, which helps engage the kids through gaming techniques. 

At another level, the AI can work with more complex individual task as well. 

I personally do use some computerized systems for learning in my class. While I agree that they can take some of the basic workload and make it more manageable for each child, I am not entirely convinced that this concept will increase overall engagement significantly. I found Bolland's research regarding the relationship betweek task and subject familiarity and pleasure quite fascinating. I like the idea of using brain research to inform teaching, I just can't fully get on board that AI/computers are the answer.