Addressing Educator Overload and Enhancing Student Engagement with AI: A Case Study at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Discover how an innovative partnership with the Noodle Factory platform, Walter, not only liberated valuable time for educators but also significantly elevated student learning experiences at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Health Sciences.

The Challenge: Too Many Assessments, Too Little Time

The School of Health Sciences at Ngee Ann Polytechnic was grappling with an imbalance in the educators' workflow. Professors ended up dedicating excessive time to grading practice and mock assessment papers that students used for their final exam preparation. This situation not only impacted educators' productivity but also put a strain on personal interactions and developmental feedback for students.

The Revolutionary Solution: Walter, An AI-powered Tutor and Assessor

Walter, provided by Noodle Factory, taps into the power of AI technology to automate time-consuming tasks such as marking, feedback, and tutoring. Leveraging advanced Natural Language Processing algorithms, Walter offers a revolutionary solution to educators.

• Automated Grading: Walter can grade effectively by comparing the student's responses against the educator-set recommended answers, as well as past year papers, forming a robust dataset that enhances the AI marking engine's accuracy.

• Adaptive Tutoring: Educators simply compile a knowledge base, feeding it with lecture notes and slides, which becomes the crux of the intelligent AI tutor delivering personalised support to students anytime, anywhere.

The Profound Impact: Increased Engagement, Enhanced Productivity

Embracing Walter resulted in transformational outcomes:

• Personalised Tutoring at Scale: Walter's AI tutor adapts to each student’s individual needs, offering personalised, interactive tutoring.

• Automation of Repetitive Marks: Grading activities became seamless and time-efficient thanks to Walter's easy-to-use interface.

• Analytics-Driven Interventions: The platform's educator-focused analytics helped identify gaps in understanding, isolated students at risk, facilitated early interventions, and gathered crucial learning metrics.

Enthusiastic Feedback: Students Love Walter!

• Contextualised AI Tutoring: Walter provides real-time feedback upon completion of practice assessments, optimising student learning.

• Optimised Interactions: With Walter’s ability to reach out to lecturers proactively, students found the review process more engaging and supportive.

A Year in Review: Statistics Speak Supportively

After deploying Walter to the 600 students at the School of Health Sciences for a year:

• 91% of students actively participated in chat-based learning offered by Walter.

• The AI tutoring experience earned a high rating of 4.26 out of 5.00 from the students.

• Each lecturer saved over 100 hours by automating marking, feedback, and tutoring.

• Since 2020, the institution has extended the usage of Noodle Factory to over 1,000 students in the Nursing department, signaling faith in the AI-powered learning platform's efficacy.

Beyond 2021: A Future Enhanced by AI

The transformation brought by Walter’s AI-powered tutoring and grading has set a new tone for the institution's teaching technique. Fully aware of the power of AI in redefining education, the School of Health Sciences at Ngee Ann Polytechnic looks forward to exploring other robust features of the Noodle Factory platform and extending its use across various academic departments. Beyond the obvious operational efficiency, it's the spirit of innovation meeting the mission of education that underlines this grand success.