AUS helps disadvantaged school kids with ‘classroom observer’
Professor Imran Zualkernan has been creating an app that can channel real-life classroom experiences into observational reports
For disadvantaged schoolchildren, improving the quality of education they receive can have a lifechanging impact, making global improvement of education one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. One way education quality can be improved is through classroom observation and evaluation, in line with international best practices. However, for underprivileged schools across the world, the costs associated with such classroom observations are oten prohibitive.
Researchers at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) are tackling this problem, developing technology for smartwatches that substitutes the role of a physical observer. Professor Imran Zualkernan of AUS’ College of Engineering has been creating an app that can channel real-life classroom experiences into observational reports. Such reports would otherwise need to be generated by a real-life classroom observer-increasing costs and potentially leading to biased results. By having a teacher simply wear a watch, the new technology can automatically provide realtime monitoring of classrooms, providing greater visibility of classroom practices. Such data is valuable for providing feedback for teachers, allowing them to improve their pedagogy, and thereby the outcomes of their students.
The app uses convolutional neural networks (computing systems which are loosely based on the biological neural networks that inspire brains) to collect information through the watch. This information is then converted into data that can be utilised by the internationally recognised classroom observation method, the Stallings System. This system, also known as the Stallings Classroom Snapshot, produces quantitative data about the interactions of teachers and students in classrooms. It has been used extensively by organisations since its introduction in the 1970s, including the World Bank.
Dr. Zualkernan’s research is atracting positive atention, with a paper detailing the findings of the research receiving the “best paper” award at the recent Artificial Intelligence for Good Conference held in conjunction with the Good Global Summit. The conference and summit were the initiative of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). There search has also received two AUS Faculty Research Grants, one for the 2018-2019 academic year and one for the 2020-2021 academic year.
For Dr. Zualkernan, improving educational outcomes for some of the world’s most disadvantaged children is the main driver behind his work. He says:
“Educational quality and inclusion are sometimes compromised in Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia, where the number of school-age children is rising every year. It is therefore imperative that we find solutions that improve education for this group of children. Embedding observational systems that need litle expertise and are of a low cost will play a fundamental role in improving teaching, and thereby learning, at scale.”
CORAL REEFS: Coral reefs in the Arabian Gulf may have a special connectivity mechanism that enables them to communicate with each other during spawning, linking them with corals in other parts of the Gulf and bolstering their chances of survival, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the American University of
Sharjah, AUS.
This mechanism plays a key role, as it enables coral larvae to be transported from a relatively healthy area to regions in need of larvae supplies due to extreme natural and human-caused stress, added the study, which investigated coral larvae connectivity in extreme environments, such as in the Arabian Gulf.
ABOUT AUS: The American University of Sharjah (AUS) was founded in 1997 by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Sharjah. Sheikh Sultan articulated his vision of a distinctive institution against the backdrop of Islamic history and in the context of the aspirations and needs of contemporary society in the UAE and the Gulf region.
Firmly grounded in principles of meritocracy and with a strong reputation for academic excellence, AUS has come to represent the very best in teaching and research, accredited internationally and recognised by employers the world over for creating graduates equipped with the knowledge, skills and drive to lead in the 21st century.