Teacher Professional Development Course Customizer (TPDCC): Using Artificial Intelligence to Support Teacher Learning at Scale

Teacher professional development (TPD) is critical to improving teaching quality and student learning, yet in the Global South, TPD programs remain largely generalized and centralized, and large-scale delivery often struggles to account for the diversity of teachers’ characteristics and teaching contexts.

Limited program customization constrains the relevance and effectiveness of TPD, highlighting the challenge of efficiently adapting TPD programs at scale without compromising the quality of the learning experience.

The Teacher Professional Development Course Customizer (TPDCC), a human-centered, artificial intelligence (AI)-supported web application, addresses this challenge by enabling group-level differentiation: it assists and supports TPD developers from ministries of education, teacher education institutions, regional/international training centers, and other public and private TPD providers in adapting existing courses for defined teacher cohorts. The TPDCC embeds GESI-responsive principles, ensuring that customized courses address gender equality and social inclusion considerations while maintaining pedagogical quality. Importantly, the tool leverages technology at the institutional or system level, rather than relying on access at the classroom or individual teacher level, enabling large-scale delivery of tailored courses even in contexts with limited connectivity or device access.,

Building on the extensive teacher professional development at scale (TPD@Scale) work of the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED) and The Open University, UK (OU) in over 30 Global South countries since 2018, this 12-month project will co-develop and iteratively test the TPDCC with institutional partners across Asia and Africa. Through this design-based research approach, the project will generate both practical tools and empirical knowledge on AI-supported TPD customization, while intentionally engaging institutions as multipliers to seed uptake and establish clear pathways for scaling within existing TPD ecosystems at national, regional, and global levels. We anticipate that our seeding strategy will reach institutions that provide professional training for 250,000 educators and others in the education workforce, if not more.

By embedding pedagogically sound, contextually appropriate, inclusive group-level course adaptation within existing institutional structures, the TPDCC has the potential to enhance the relevance, flexibility, and equity of professional learning for large teacher populations across the Global South, improving teaching quality and supporting better learning outcomes for students.
The current proposal covers the design, development, and pilot testing of the TPDCC along with activities to seed uptake within Global South TPD ecosystems. Although outside the scope of this proposal, a follow-on phase focused on supporting TPDCC adoption, sustainability, and further scaling is described for future consideration.