Teaching AI to Teach: The National Tutoring Observatory’s Bold Mission with Rene Kizilcec

23 snips

Dec 22, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Rene Kizilcec, an Associate Professor at Cornell and director of the Future of Learning Lab, explores the transformative power of AI in education. He discusses how the National Tutoring Observatory aims to build the largest dataset of tutoring interactions to identify effective teaching moves. Kizilcec emphasizes the need for robust benchmarks to measure AI tutoring quality and reveals insights on how questioning can enhance student engagement. He also shares innovative simulation-based learning projects at Cornell that hold great potential in education.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Tutoring Sparked His Research Path

Rene began tutoring kids teaching programming at a summer camp during his undergraduate years.
That pair-programming experience sparked his lifelong interest in education and edtech research.

ANECDOTE

Early MOOC Research Shaped His Equity Focus

At Stanford Rene joined early MOOC research analyzing who enrolled and why, uncovering completion challenges.
That work led to interventions on self-regulation and belonging to improve engagement at scale.

INSIGHT

Building A Pedagogy-Driven Tutoring Dataset

The National Tutoring Observatory aims to identify which tutor behaviors actually drive learning by compiling the Million Tutoring Moves dataset.
This data will train AI and inform pedagogy so models reflect real effective tutoring instead of internet noise.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Send us a text

Rene Kizilcec is an Associate Professor at Cornell University, where he directs the Cornell Future of Learning Lab and leads the National Tutoring Observatory. His research focuses on learning science, AI in education, and the behavioral and computational factors that shape student success. His work has appeared in Science, PNAS, and other top journals.

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode

How the National Tutoring Observatory is building the largest dataset of real tutoring interactions.
What specific “tutoring moves” actually drive learning outcomes.
How AI models can be trained to use stronger pedagogical strategies.
Why education needs real benchmarks for measuring teaching quality in AI.
How simulation-based learning is transforming medical and language training at Cornell.

✨ Episode Highlights
[00:00:00] Rene on aligning AI study tools with real pedagogy.
[00:02:33] Lessons from early MOOC research on equity and completion.
[00:05:58] How motivation and belonging interventions improved outcomes.
[00:10:57] The mission and structure of the National Tutoring Observatory.
[00:13:01] Why tutoring works—and why we haven’t known which moves matter.
[00:18:28] Tools for identifying tutoring moves across huge datasets.
[00:20:00] Using tutoring data to influence hyperscalers and AI product design.
[00:22:37] The need for robust benchmarks for AI tutoring quality.
[00:27:42] Why great tutors ask questions instead of giving answers.
[00:31:03] How tutoring data can improve AI models while preserving privacy.
[00:34:34] How tutoring providers can join the NTO consortium.
[00:37:16] Simulation-based learning with MedSimAI and Chitter Chatter.
[00:41:34] How AI-assisted development accelerates EdTech innovation.

😎 Stay updated with Edtech Insiders!

🎉 Presenting Sponsor/s:

Every year, K-12 districts and higher ed institutions spend over half a trillion dollars—but most sales teams miss the signals. Starbridge tracks early signs like board minutes, budget drafts, and strategic plans, then helps you turn them into personalized outreach—fast. Win the deal before it hits the RFP stage. That’s how top edtech teams stay ahead.

This season of Edtech Insiders is brought to you by Cooley LLP. Cooley is the go-to law firm for education and edtech innovators, offering industry-informed counsel across the 'pre-K to gray' spectrum. With a multidisciplinary approach and a powerful edtech ecosystem, Cooley helps shape the future of education.

As a tech-first company, Tuck Advisors has developed a suite of proprietary tools to serve its clients better. Tuck was the first firm in the world to launch a custom GPT around M&A. If you haven’t already, try our proprietary M&A Analyzer, which assesses fit between your company and a specific buyer. To explore this free tool and the rest of our technology, visit tuckadvisors.com.