Today, Wednesday 13th September, 2023, we’re delighted to announce a new partnership with the Salesforce Foundation to create new tools that use AI to support teacher development. Teacher Development Trust has been selected as one of six organisations by the Salesforce Foundation for their new accelerator programme, “AI for Impact“. Teacher Development Trust reaches over 4,000 teachers and leaders across the UK, helping teachers create expert schools where students succeed.
The partnership, through the accelerator, will help create immersive, AI-powered role-playing scenarios tailored for teachers and their coaches, with TDT receiving a share of the $2M fund that Salesforce has allocated for this accelerator programme.
Our Co-CEO (Innovation & Research), commenting from the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco where the partnership was launched, said
“We’re thrilled to tap into the transformative power of Salesforce Accelerator – AI for Impact , harnessing the latest technology to amplify our charitable mission. The support and resources provided will be transformational: a catalyst, driving significant change for the schools and communities that we serve.”
Naomi Morenzoni, Salesforce’s SVP of Philanthropy said:
“When this application came through, I got really excited. Anyone who’s done teaching knows that it can be a pretty lonely place, you’re the sole adult in a room full of kids. Something maybe doesn’t go the way that we had hoped it would, and in your break or as you try to fall asleep that night, you might be thinking, how could I have done that better? What their solution is doing is bringing the power of AI simulations to those teachers in an on-demand way.”
The planned tool will help a teacher work with their coach to either prepare for or reflect on challenging classroom situations, re-running simulated scenarios to work out how to do it better. Salesforce’s Morenzoni adds:
“It brings that power of one-on-one coaching that’s so effective for teachers, and it does it in an on-demand way.
When you think about the way flight simulation has transformed how we train pilots, what could we do with our teachers using AI simulations to transform the way they teach, doing it in this reactive, dynamic, personalized way to improve their teaching. Frankly, as a former teacher, I would’ve loved to have something like this when I was in the classroom.”
You can read more about TDT’s work exploring simulation tools here. Find out more about TDT’s work to create expert schools here.