Knowledge Graph Helps Build AI Rooted in Learning Science

AI is already changing how we teach and learn - and the best tools are making it easier for teachers to do what they do best: help students succeed.

At SXSW EDU 2025, Playlab CEO Yusuf Ahmad and Aneka Bruce, a former teacher and now director of content and coaching in math for Leading Educators, shared how AI can support - not replace - educators. Their conversation focused on a shared goal: making high-quality, research-backed instruction more accessible to every classroom.

Playlab is a nonprofit technology organization "about building human agency in the era of AI," said Ahmad during the fireside chat.

With Playlab, educators can build and test AI-powered tools tailored to real instructional needs - from unpacking standards to planning lessons. This includes educators like Bruce, who used Playlab to build a tool that helps teachers break down complex math standards into learning components they can teach and assess.

Bruce's tool and Playlab's AI are supported by an infrastructural tool developed by CZI - a structured dataset called Knowledge Graph that helps ensure AI tools reflect learning science, curriculum and state academic standards.

Educators Face Barriers to Implementing Research-Driven Instruction

Even the best curriculum doesn't teach itself - and for many educators, figuring out how to implement it can be one of the hardest parts of the job.

"What first-year teacher can actually build quality curriculum in their first year?" Bruce asked at SXSW EDU. "No one."

Like many educators, she started her teaching career without a roadmap - and without much support.

While generative AI holds promise, it still doesn't come with built-in teaching expertise. Most large language models aren't connected to the structure educators rely on - like state standards, learning science or actual curriculum materials. Without that foundation, AI tools risk offering answers that sound helpful but aren't instructionally useful or accurate.

That's where Knowledge Graph comes in. It provides a structured network of datasets enabling developers to improve the accuracy of their AI outputs.

"What does it look like to take powerful ideas in the science of learning, what we know about human development, what we know about how the mind works, what great coaching and instruction looks like," Ahmad asked, "and connect those ideas to the possibilities and opportunities of using this new technology to advance some of that hard work?"

CZI is partnering with Playlab in a closed beta, where they're leveraging Knowledge Graph to increase the effectiveness of their platform for educators using Illustrative Math - a curriculum widely used in K-12 education. Knowledge Graph also incorporates academic standards from all 50 states in partnership with 1EdTech.

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Building AI Tools That Reflect the Real Needs of Educators

CZI is working to address the gap between big tech's AI advancements and the specific needs of education. With our developer tools, we aim to empower edtech teams to create transformative and pedagogically rigorous solutions that address the unique challenges faced by educators and schools.

As a math coach, Bruce used Playlab's AI to create the Math Standards Unpacking Tool - helping teachers break down dense math standards so they can build stronger lessons, design targeted assessments, and better support student understanding. Knowledge Graph empowers tools like Bruce's with curriculum-aligned, research-backed content.

"AI - it's amazing. You should not stray away from it," explained Bruce. "You want to use it, but you have to know how to use it. How do we actually utilize it so that it works for our benefit?"

The Math Standards Unpacking Tool is part of Leading Educators' broader toolkit for supporting teachers - including in large districts like Los Angeles Unified School District, where their coaching and curriculum efforts are reaching thousands of educators.

Also read: New AI Resources and Advisory Board Aim To Support Responsible Development of Education Tools

Learning Science-Backed Edtech Products for the Public Good

Knowledge Graph is part of CZI's larger effort to improve AI for education. By building AI systems with researchers, educators, edtech developers and other leaders in the space, we can help drive a future focused on better serving students and teachers.

CZI's other AI tool, Evaluators, enables developers to ensure high-quality AI-generated content by assessing outputs against expert-backed rubrics. We're partnering with Diffit - an AI tool that helps educators generate learning resources - in a private beta, where Diffit will use the evaluator to measure and improve the complexity of the text their product generates.

Learn more about participating in our private beta or partnering with us to further the public good of educational AI.

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