Enhancing Early Literacy-Building Apps with Improved Audio Understanding

All students have the potential to read at or above grade level, however only 31% of U.S. 4th grade students meet reading proficiency standards. This year’s SCOPE team joined Boston University’s Wheelock Institute for the Science of Education (BU WISE) on a large interdisciplinary research team, investigating how technologies such as automatic speech recognition systems can become more capable of accurately identifying sounds that early elementary students make as they learn to read. The team explored a variety of approaches for translating improved audio understanding into information that can assist educators in helping young learners enhance their literacy skills. The team analyzed the efficacy of existing speech recognition tools and drafted sustainability and ethical consideration frameworks designed to guide thoughtful AI and early education integration.

Faculty Advisor:

• Amon Millner

Team Members:

• Belén Hutchins
• Dokyun Kim
• Sally Lee
• Ian Lum
• Kelsey McClung
• Elin O'Neill