About the Project

About the Project

Guidance for Responsible AI in STEM Education Research (GRAISER)

The impressive ability of modern AI tools to generate text, audio, and images in response to natural language prompts suggests the potential for these tools to lead to substantial resource savings, including in research contexts. Three broad categories where AI could be used in research have been identified (Johri et al., 2023): generative assistance (data generation, instrument creation, documentation, coding support, rapid prototyping, data presentation, and summarizing for review), data analysis, and reporting (drafting and editing, paper writing, and literature review). With AI use, however, comes increased risk and responsibility–both to our research and to our participants.

Our project seeks to support education researchers by providing responsible usage guidelines that increase efficiency and accuracy while decreasing harms.

Processes

Consensus development conferences (CDC) bring together experts to synthesize knowledge to inform practice (Fink et al., 1984). We will adopt best practices for CDCs to establish ethical guidelines for AI in STEM education research, including planning, individual judgment, and group interaction. Blending this with participatory design research (Slocum-Bradley, 2003; Spinuzzi, 2005), we will actively engage participants as co-creators in both the conference process and the report’s development. Our thumbnail process and timeline are as follows:

  • Sept-Oct 2025: Establish our steering committee; Invite the community to apply to participate in the workshop and to provide asynchronous feedback as the guidelines are developed; Send invitations to community members to attend the workshop (to be held Nov 3-4, 2025 in Chicago, IL)
  • Nov 2025: Host the workshop
  • Dec 2025 – Jan 2026: Create first draft of guidelines; share with steering committee; revise draft based on feedback
  • Feb 2026: Share second draft with workshop participants
  • March 2026: Revise draft and review with steering committee
  • April 2026: Solicit feedback on draft from asynchronous reviewers and others in the broader STEM education research community; if you would like to provide feedback, please complete our form.
  • May 2026: Revise draft
  • June – August 2026: Share guidelines with the broader community

Project Team

Dr. Monica McGill, IACE, Principal Investigator (PI)

Dr. Julie Smith, IACE, Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Steering Committee

Dr. Justin Reich

MIT

Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies

Dr. Megan Stubbs-Richardson

Mississippi State University

Associate Research Professor at the Social Science Research Center

Dr. Aman Yadav

Michigan State University

Lappan-Phillips Professor of Computing Education

Workshop Participants

  • Dr. Elizabeth M. Adams, Chief Engagement Officer, Minnesota Responsible AI Institute
  • Dr. Oladayo Bello, Assistant Professor, New Mexico State University
  • William “Ike” Eisenhauer, MEng, Assistant Professor (Adjunct), Mechanical and Materials Engineering Portland State University
  • Dr. Tugba Boz, Assistant Professor of Instructional Design and Technology, University of North Dakota
  • Dr. Lisa Bosman, Associate Professor, Purdue University
  • Watsachol Narongsaksakul, Graduate Research Assistant, College of Education, Illinois State University
  • Rebecca Peterson, PhD, Assistant Director of Research and Evaluation, Stark Science Learning Center (formerly Genetic Science Learning Center), University of Utah
  • Rachel Garrett, PhD., Managing Researcher, American Institutes for Research
  • Lois Wong, AI Librarian, University of Chicago
  • Ali Crawford, Senior Research Analyst, Center for Security and Emerging Technology
  • Dr. Michole Washington, NASA SCoPE Postdoctoral Research Scholar, School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University
  • Dr. Nirav S. Patel, Asst. Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Dr. Stephanie Baker, Senior Evaluation Researcher, Texas Advanced Computer Center at The University of Texas at Austin
  • Gadhaun Aslam, PhD Candidate & Graduate Assistant, University of Florida
  • Prof. Krista K. Thomason, Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy, Swarthmore College
  • Tara Chattoraj, Researcher, American Institutes for Research
  • Jeremy Riel, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago
  • Diana Dajung Oh, PhD, Researcher, American Institutes for Research
  • Dr. Adrienne Decker, Associate Professor, University at Buffalo
  • Yunus Doğan Telliel, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Director of Great Problems Seminars, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  • Kristan Beck, Director of Computer Science, Chicago Public Schools
  • Sofía De Jesús, Computer Science Strategy Specialist, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Dr. Sharin Jacob, Researcher in Computational Thinking & Learning Pathways, Digital Promise
  • Eben B. Witherspoon, PhD; Senior Researcher; American Institutes for Research
  • Grace Li, PhD Student in Computer Science, University of Chicago
  • Dr. Szymon Machajewski, Associate Director, Academic Technology and Learning Innovation, University of Illinois Chicago

Asynchronous Participants

Asynchronous participants will be announced soon.