Empowering the Next Generation: Dr. Wing Fu’s Vision for AI and Adaptive Learning
Dr. Wing Fu was recently selected as the recipient of the Provost's Large Scale Teaching & Learning Award for her innovative project, "AI-Assisted Coaching: Empowering Academic Success through the Master Adaptive Learner Model."
We spoke with Dr. Fu about the award, the project's impact, key outcomes, and her reflections on the experience.
About the Award & Proposal
Can you briefly explain the idea behind your project, "AI-Assisted Coaching: Empowering Academic Success through the Master Adaptive Learner Model"?
"AI-Assisted Coaching: Empowering Academic Success through the Master Adaptive Learner Model" is an innovative initiative that combines the power of artificial intelligence (AI) with personalized human coaching to support Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. Guided by the Master Adaptive Learner (MAL) model, the project aims to foster self-directed, reflective, and adaptive learning. AI will help coaches systematically assess students’ learning behaviors and needs, offering data-driven insights and strategies. Coaches will then interpret these insights through the lens of their professional expertise, ensuring a tailored and balanced approach to each student’s academic and personal development.
How does it feel to have your work recognized?
It feels incredibly rewarding and humbling to have this work recognized. This project is something I deeply believe in. It brings together my passion for education, innovation, and student support. Receiving this grant is not just an acknowledgment of the idea, but also a validation of the potential impact it can have on learners’ growth and success. I especially value the Master Adaptive Learner model for its emphasis on reflective, self-directed learning, which aligns so closely with how I believe students thrive. I’m also deeply grateful for the support from the DPT program. It’s energizing and affirming, and it makes me even more excited to move the work forward.
How do you hope this project will impact student learning and performance in our program?
I hope this project will empower students to become more self-directed, reflective, and adaptive learners – skills that are essential for both academic and professional success in physical therapy. Through personalized, AI-assisted coaching, students will not only develop more effective learning strategies but also, when needed, strengthen internal characteristics such as motivation and resilience. Ultimately, I hope this leads to improved confidence and performance across the program, while fostering a culture of continuous learning and self-improvement that students carry with them into their professional careers.
Do you see this evolving beyond the doors of Columbia? Could it help other programs?
Absolutely, I see strong potential for this work to evolve beyond our DPT program and beyond Columbia. The core principles of this project – personalized coaching, data-informed insights, and a focus on developing adaptive, self-directed learners – are universal needs across health professions education and beyond.
Other programs could adapt this model to fit their own contexts, whether in physical therapy, medicine, nursing, or even non-clinical disciplines. The combination of AI and human coaching offers a scalable, flexible framework that can be tailored to different learner populations and institutional goals. My hope is that this project can serve as a model or starting point for others who are looking to integrate technology in a way that enhances – not replaces – the human elements of teaching and learning.
What have you learned about teaching or coaching over the years that helped shape your approach to this project?
Teaching is less about delivering information and more about cultivating the conditions for growth. And the most important condition, I’ve learned, is helping learners learn how to learn – enhancing their ability to engage with, reflect on, and adapt their own learning process. I’ve also found that we need to take a “diagnose and treat” approach to support and coach learners. It’s not one-size-fits-all. Once we identify where a learner is or what specific challenges they’re facing, we can more effectively guide them toward meaningful change.
And once a learner truly understands how to learn, they feel empowered and more confident – equipped with the mindset and skills to take on new challenges and pursue whatever they set their minds to. This philosophy is at the heart of this AI-Assisted Coaching project. By combining data-informed insights with personalized coaching, we aim to create the conditions that help each student grow not just academically, but as adaptive, lifelong learners.