Exploring AI-supported teaching and learning at USask through TrackPoint

University students often develop oral communication, interviewing, presentation, information-gathering, and interpersonal skills through practice. A pilot supported through USask’s Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) is exploring whether AI-supported simulations can provide additional opportunities for that practice alongside classroom role plays and simulated-patient or client experiences.

TrackPoint is an AI-supported oral simulation and communication practice platform being piloted in selected courses offered through the Colleges of Law, Pharmacy and Nutrition, and Dentistry, as well as the Edwards School of Business. The pilot will help USask evaluate its potential educational value, what effective implementation requires, and what support educators and students need.

TrackPoint allows students to work through discipline-specific scenarios with an AI character and receive feedback focused on priorities established by their instructor. Students can complete the activities on their own schedules and repeat them as needed. The platform is being used to support repeated, low-stakes oral practice before and between classroom role plays and in preparation for higher-stakes real-world experiences such as presentations, interviews, simulated-patient or client interactions, and clinical placements.

In LAW 430, students interview an AI client and receive automated feedback on their oral communication. Law professor Michaela Keet, who teaches the course and worked with TrackPoint to develop the client interview scenario, said the activity encourages students to look beyond the legal facts and ask about the client’s experience, interests, and concerns. Students were required to complete it once, but Keet estimated that they tried it about three times on average.

“I was initially surprised by how thorough and on-point the feedback was,” Keet said.

She also emphasized that students still need to assess AI-generated feedback critically and recognize where it may miss aspects of human communication.

TrackPoint also participated in the Impact2Market program at Opus, USask’s startup incubator. According to the company, Opus provided mentorship, business guidance, and introductions to faculty as TrackPoint developed its platform.

The pilot involves more than access to software. Instructors work with TrackPoint to develop and test scenarios, while a GMCTL artificial intelligence in teaching and learning specialist provides one-on-one support to align activities with learning outcomes, prepare students, and support reflection. Participating educators meet throughout the term as a community of practice. Members of USask’s Information and Communications Technology team support access and technical readiness, while surveys and course-level feedback help the university understand how educators and students experience the simulations.

“Adopting an AI tool well is not about buying licences,” said Ryan Banow, learning technologies lead with the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL). “It’s about the support around it.”

The pilot is intended to generate evidence, not prepare for a predetermined rollout. USask is evaluating whether the simulations provide educational value, which disciplines and learning activities may be suited to the approach, and what effective implementation requires. Participation and positive initial reactions alone will not be treated as evidence of improved learning. Future decisions about TrackPoint will depend on the pilot’s findings, and the current pilot operates within a one-year approval period.

Educators interested in helping shape the next phase of USask’s AI teaching and learning pilots can apply to participate in the Winter 2027 AI Teaching and Learning Pilot Program. Applications for TrackPoint and Google Gemini Notebook are open until Nov. 5.

Learn more about artificial intelligence at USask.

AI disclosure: This article was developed with assistance from Microsoft Copilot.