Fletch helps teachers practise hard talks with parents
La Trobe University in Melbourne is using an AI-driven robot to help teachers prepare for difficult conversations with parents at school.
The talking social robot, called Fletch, is programmed to mimic a disgruntled parent. It lets teachers rehearse tense situations before facing them in their workplace.
Researchers interviewed experienced teachers about real encounters with challenging people. Those interviews shaped training scenarios for the robot.
One scenario involves a parent worried that their child’s grades have dropped. Another involves a parent disputing their child’s suspension.
Fletch re-enacts parent disputes
Fletch adopts personas from those cases and re-enacts them with trainee teachers. Using AI, it modifies its reactions based on the teacher’s responses.
La Trobe will use the robot mainly with its pre-service teachers before they enter the classroom. A number of Victorian schools have also signed on to train existing staff.
The project is one of several people-centred AI programs at La Trobe. The university has adopted an AI-first approach across teaching, research, industry engagement and business operations.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (AI) Phil Laufenberg said applied AI gave universities a chance to prepare learners for their workplaces in a responsible way.
Laufenberg said Fletch showed the real-world use of applied AI in a university setting and linked the project to the new La Trobe AI Institute.
Lead researcher Professor Therese Keane from La Trobe’s School of Education said work-related violence and aggression had become a significant occupational health and safety crisis in Australian schools.
According to Keane, exposure to verbal aggression adds to stress, burnout and retention problems, which then worsen teacher shortages.
She said pre-service teachers and people entering the profession receive little formal preparation for difficult or emotionally charged conversations with parents.
As a result, the project aims to give pre-service and early-career teachers practical strategies and more confidence to de-escalate challenging interactions.
La Trobe describes Fletch as an embodied artificial agent. It is designed to interact with people through social cues, communication and behaviours that support meaningful engagement.
Recently retired principal Henry Grossek also backed the approach. La Trobe did not give his full comments in the material provided.
Related Articles
Related: Victoria plans 140 senior public
