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Addressing Educator Overload and Enhancing Student Engagement with AI: A Case Study at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Updated: Jul 6

First Posted: April 19, 2024 



Discover how an innovative partnership with the Noodle Factory platform, Walter, not only liberated valuable time for educators but also significantly elevated student learning experiences at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Health Sciences.


The Challenge: Too Many Assessments, Too Little Time


The School of Health Sciences at Ngee Ann Polytechnic was grappling with an imbalance in the educators' workflow. Professors ended up dedicating excessive time to grading practice and mock assessment papers that students used for their final exam preparation. This situation not only impacted educators' productivity but also put a strain on personal interactions and developmental feedback for students.


This challenge is not unique to Ngee Ann Polytechnic. According to the OECD's TALIS 2024 survey of teachers across 55 education systems, over 50% of teachers cite "too much marking" as a top source of workplace stress — and Singapore teachers spend an average of 4 hours per week on administrative tasks alone, above the OECD average of 3 hours.


The Revolutionary Solution: Walter, An AI-powered Tutor and Assessor


Walter, provided by Noodle Factory, taps into the power of AI technology to automate time-consuming tasks such as marking, feedback, and tutoring. Leveraging advanced Natural Language Processing algorithms, Walter offers a revolutionary solution to educators.


  • Automated Grading: Walter can grade effectively by comparing the student's responses against the educator-set recommended answers, as well as past year papers, forming a robust dataset that enhances the AI marking engine's accuracy.

  • Adaptive Tutoring: Educators simply compile a knowledge base, feeding it with lecture notes and slides, which becomes the crux of the intelligent AI tutor delivering personalised support to students anytime, anywhere.


The Profound Impact: Increased Engagement, Enhanced Productivity


Embracing Walter resulted in transformational outcomes:


  • Personalised Tutoring at Scale: Walter's AI tutor adapts to each student’s individual needs, offering personalised, interactive tutoring.

  • Automation of Repetitive Marks: Grading activities became seamless and time-efficient thanks to Walter's easy-to-use interface.

  • Analytics-Driven Interventions: The platform's educator-focused analytics helped identify gaps in understanding, isolated students at risk, facilitated early interventions, and gathered crucial learning metrics.

"The AI marker and tutor provide win-win solutions in learning as students get instant feedback and personalised learning, while staff now have more time to provide targeted help."Dr Phang Chiew HunDirector, School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Enthusiastic Feedback: Students Love Walter!


  • Contextualised AI Tutoring: Walter provides real-time feedback upon completion of practice assessments, optimising student learning.

  • Optimised Interactions: With Walter’s ability to reach out to lecturers proactively, students found the review process more engaging and supportive.


A Year in Review: Statistics Speak Supportively


After deploying Walter to the 600 students at the School of Health Sciences for a year:


  • 91% of students actively participated in chat-based learning offered by Walter.

  • The AI tutoring experience earned a high rating of 4.26 out of 5.00 from the students.

  • Each lecturer saved over 100 hours by automating marking, feedback, and tutoring.

  • Since 2020, the institution has extended the usage of Noodle Factory to over 1,000 students in the Nursing department, signaling faith in the AI-powered learning platform's efficacy.


2024 and Beyond: A Future Enhanced by AI

The transformation at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Health Sciences was just the beginning. Since 2020, Noodle Factory has expanded across Southeast Asia and beyond — supporting universities, polytechnics, and schools in Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, among others. New capabilities have continued to extend what Walter can do: NoodleMe now enables students to build and share their own AI tutors from personal notes, while agentic AI features proactively guide learners over time rather than simply responding to questions. The platform continues to be shaped by the educators using it — with every feature tested in real classrooms before it ships.


"This is not just about using technology to run our existing processes better. It's about reinventing our entire approach to teaching and learning." Dr Phang Chiew Hun Director, School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Key Takeaways:

What this case study shows:


  • AI grading automation can save individual educators 100+ hours per year

  • Student engagement rates above 90% are achievable with well-structured AI tutoring

  • Institutional-scale deployment (600–1,000+ students) is feasible without additional IT infrastructure

  • Student satisfaction scores (4.26/5) indicate AI tutoring complements, rather than replaces, the human educator relationship


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