Research Assistant: Demystifying AI Can Help Level the Higher Education Playing Field

Isabella “Izzy” Greene-Noble admits she once had fears about artificial intelligence. Now she’s hoping her work with Every Learner Everywhere will help other students overcome their own concerns about AI and how to use it. Greene-Noble is a research assistant who’s part of the summer and fall 2024 Every Learner Everywhere internship program. Her task: demystifying AI through helping to draft tutorials about guidelines for using AI in postsecondary education.

Greene-Noble, a sophomore at the University of Mississippi, says, “For years, AI kind of scared me. There are so many things that are unknown about it. It all boils down to just being educated on the topic. If we can reach everybody, we can level the playing field.”

In February 2024 Greene-Noble accepted an invitation to participate in a webinar about AI in higher education. The conversations in that Every Learner event — and two others about technology — sparked her interest in how students and educators are using AI to support their academic pursuits.

So when she got the opportunity to participate in an internship with Every Learner that focuses on AI guidance for students and faculty, she jumped at the chance.

A nonlinear educational path

Greene-Noble’s work with Every Learner Everywhere is the latest step in an education and career-training journey that has been anything but linear. As a high school senior, in fact, she was unsure if she wanted to go to college, and she wrestled with the question of her future path.

When Greene-Noble’s interest in education and certainty about her future waned, it was her family’s support — in word and deed — that set her on her current course.

One of her grandfathers and mother encouraged her to give college a try. Her other grandfather nurtured her longtime interest in flying by taking her to aviation museums and air shows, also guided her toward piloting introductory flights.

“I wanted to do something with my life,” says Greene-Noble, who grew up in Michigan and Florida. “They said, ‘You know you can do this. We’ve all seen what you can do. You’re stronger than you think.’”

Soon Greene-Noble began to believe her family’s words. She enrolled at Ole Miss, committed to completing her coursework in three years, and is planning on an accelerated program in aviation training. She takes classes year-round while also participating in campus activities and employment opportunities, working for offices like Student Housing and the Writing Center.

Greene-Noble frequently cites the words of encouragement from her mother that see her through her most challenging times: “You’ve got a fire lit under you. You’ve got to keep it moving.”  Greene-Noble took that to mean both for herself and others.

A model for student success

Now Greene-Noble hopes to extend the support her family provided to help other students gain the confidence to succeed.

One way to provide that assistance, she says, is to ensure that all students have access to tools that make it easier for them to complete their coursework.

She feels, when used correctly, AI tools like grammar checkers and chatbots can help students with academic work such as research and editing.

Equally important is educating students about how and when to use these tools — and what’s appropriate in relying on AI in a higher education setting. Students, Greene-Noble says, should not be left to wonder if their use of artificial intelligence is in line with their institutions’ expectations and whether their actions might be putting their academic future at risk.

She hopes the instructional materials about AI she and her fellow interns are preparing will be a resource not only for students but also for the faculty and administrators who lead them. To that end, the goal is to start by teaching professors about AI, so they can offer their students guidance about the use of these tools in college coursework.

“It really starts with whether the professors are educated on it,” she says. “You can have a fantastic professor. But if that professor has an assignment that introduces AI and doesn’t know enough about it, then how are the students supposed to know about it?”

Learning while teaching others

While Greene-Noble hopes her research will benefit students and faculty and advance educational equity in the future, her work is already paying dividends she believes will make a long-term impact on her own studies and career. She points to the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that come from helping others in their academic journey.

“If we can reach everybody at different kinds of universities, I think it will make a big difference,” she says. “But I still have so much to learn, and that’s the whole point of the project. We can learn together and hopefully help others.”