La Trobe's Fletch AI trains teachers for difficult parent conversations
Say hello to Fletch, an AI robot from La Trobe University in Australia that helps teachers practice tricky conversations with parents: think questions about grades or discipline.
Unlike old-school training, Fletch responds in real time and is programmed using insights from experienced teachers, adopting different personas and recreating these situations, making practice feel more like the real thing.
Fletch tackles verbal aggression in schools
Fletch was built using real teacher experiences and is here to help tackle rising verbal aggression in schools, a big reason many teachers feel stressed or burned out.
Professor Therese Keane says it gives new teachers practical ways to calm heated situations, while retired principal Henry Grossek says this is a skill that teachers new to the profession need to practice in a safe and nonthreatening environment.
Fletch will primarily be used to prepare La Trobe's preservice teachers before they begin working in classrooms, and several schools in Victoria have also signed up to use the system to train existing staff.