Screagle Simulation offers innovative AI tools for USI students

The Teacher Education’s Literacy Center—located in Rice Library—has installed a new, innovative tool blending AI and human-in-the loop technology for students. Known as the Screagle Simulation, this tool creates authentic, challenging and dynamic interpersonal simulations and provides education students with hands-on, interactive experiences in a supportive and dynamic learning environment.  

Through this simulation, pre-service teachers engage in small-group teaching, refine classroom management strategies and practice differentiated instruction, all while receiving real-time feedback from USI instructors. The “students” that they see on screen are controlled by graduate students from the University of Mississippi, USI’s partner for this program. The Ole Miss students control the simulated student's behavior and responses to ensure each “student” has distinct challenges and personality traits. One of the most valuable aspects of the tool is that it allows students to navigate challenging teaching moments in a safe space, from helping a student struggling with a math concept to modeling think-aloud strategies for comprehension. 

“This is [our students] opportunity to try, reflect and try again,” says Rebecca Moore, Reading Coordinator. “Whether practicing small-group instruction, navigating the first-ever parent conversation or figuring out how to engage a student who just isn’t getting it, the Screagle Simulation gives students a place to build those skills before they step into their own classroom.” 

In 2023, USI received a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Advancing the Science of Reading in Indiana (ASRI) to fund the creation of the Literacy Center, a flexible and interactive learning space. The Center was designed to support the integration of the Science of Reading into Teacher Education’s curriculum and the Screagle Simulation software. Students are not only learning best practices in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, but also applying these strategies in real-world scenarios through simulation-based learning. 

The ability to engage in these crucial teaching experiences before stepping into a real classroom is an incredible advantage for USI’s teacher education students. “Many education students do not have access to software to practice these scenarios,” says Sydney Landrum, elementary education major ‘25. “Screagle Simulation has given me the opportunity to hone my skills in classroom management and prepare me for my future career as an educator.”