News Summary:
On February 20, 2026, SRI International's Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative conducted secondary analyses of survey datasets to advance the conceptualization and measurement of self-directed learning (SDL) in higher education. The collaborative utilized data from its prior Institutional Policy and Practice (IPP) Study and Rapid Cycle Evaluations (RCEs) to assess the performance of existing SDL instruments within broad access institutions and their diverse student populations. Earlier, on February 18, 2026, SRI discussed the "jagged intelligence" problem in modern AI chatbots, highlighting how large language models exhibit both advanced capabilities and basic errors, such as failing high school math problems. On February 16, 2026, SRI scientists contributed to a NASA mission to study the northern lights, providing data from the SRI-operated Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar to enhance understanding of electrical currents in ionospheric plasma. Previously, on February 12, 2026, SRI's robotics lab was featured on the YouTube program "Inside Startups," which showcased three projects demonstrating how robots can improve cancer treatment, accelerate teleoperation, and learn through AI. This followed a study highlighted on February 5, 2026, detailing limitations in using integrated district-level education and county-level weather event data to estimate the effects of weather events on student achievement, specifically noting imprecise geographic linkage and a lack of detailed measures for event intensity.
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