Pedalogical
Pedalogical: Reimagining Education with AI
Pedalogical is a research initiative I am leading at Willamette University, aimed at transforming the way we personalize education through artificial intelligence. Developed in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate students, Pedalogical leverages generative AI to create individualized learning experiences that are adaptive, scalable, and pedagogically sound.
Pedalogical is part of my broader research mission to advance computing education, interdisciplinary technology development, and ethical AI integration.
Project Overview
The core idea behind Pedalogical is simple but powerful:
> Use AI to dynamically generate assignments, explanations, and feedback based on each student’s unique knowledge and comprehension level.
Our system integrates OpenAI’s GPT-4 models to assess students’ understanding and produce customized educational materials tailored to their progress and needs.
Pedalogical is designed to:
- Enhance student engagement by meeting learners where they are.
- Alleviate instructor workload by automating parts of the content creation process.
- Promote deeper learning through individualized scaffolding and inquiry-based prompts.
Key Features
Personalized Assignments:
Each student receives tasks that reflect their individual strengths and areas for growth, moving beyond a “one-size-fits-all” model.
Dynamic Explanations:
Explanations adapt based on student responses and prior performance, helping students build conceptual understanding step-by-step.
Instructor Insights:
Aggregate analytics offer instructors a clearer view of class-wide comprehension trends without overwhelming them with manual grading.
Ethical and Responsible AI Use:
We emphasize human-centered AI design principles, ensuring transparency, fairness, and respect for student autonomy.
Outcomes and Recognition
My students were recognized at the 2025 Murdock College Science Research Conference, where they won a Poster Prize in the Neuroscience–Psychology–Exercise Science category for their work on Pedalogical.
Our interdisciplinary team demonstrated that AI can meaningfully enhance education when thoughtfully integrated with pedagogy.
Future Directions
Expanding Content Domains: Moving beyond computing education into other fields such as biology, environmental science, and writing.
Adaptive Feedback Loops: Developing real-time conversational tutoring agents that scaffold inquiry-based learning.
Open-Source Framework: Planning to release a toolkit for educators to customize and deploy their own versions of Pedalogical.