Teaching Spell Checkers to Teach: Pedagogical Program Synthesis for Interactive Learning

Overview

SPIRE (Spelling Inquiry Engine) operationalizes inquiry-based pedagogy for spelling instruction through automated program synthesis. The system transforms traditional spell-checking into an interactive learning tool that addresses phonological, morphological, semantic, and etymological dimensions of spelling, targeting learners with language-based learning disorders who require structured metalinguistic reasoning rather than simple error correction.

Methods and approach

The system implements Pedagogical Program Synthesis, a novel computational framework that encodes speech-language pathology instructional moves in a domain-specific language. Upon detection of spelling errors, SPIRE synthesizes tailored intervention programs in real-time and renders them as interactive interfaces. The approach grounds implementation in established speech-language pathology practices while automating program generation and delivery within writing environments.

Key Findings

Evaluation conducted with speech-language pathologists and learners demonstrated alignment between SPIRE's generated interventions and professional instructional practice. The system successfully generated interactive inquiry-based learning sequences from spelling errors, supporting exploration of word families, morphological structure, grapheme-phoneme correspondences, and etymological relationships. Results indicate feasibility for integration into standard writing workflows.

Implications

SPIRE establishes a precedent for operationalizing dynamic pedagogical practices through automated synthesis, extending beyond spell-checking to support metalinguistic development in learners with language-based learning disorders. The framework demonstrates that composition tools can incorporate evidence-based instructional approaches without requiring explicit rule specification by end-users. This approach may inform the design of other educational technologies that embed specialized pedagogical expertise into writing and learning environments.

Disclosure

Key points

• Research title: Teaching Spell Checkers to Teach: Pedagogical Program Synthesis for Interactive Learning
• Authors: Momin N. Siddiqui, Vincent Cavez, Sahana Rangasrinivasan, Abbie Olszewski, Srirangaraj Setlur, Maneesh Agrawala, Sookyung Kim
• Institutions: Georgia Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, University of Nevada, Reno
• Publication date: 2026-03-03
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789137
• OpenAlex record: View
• Image credit: Photo by finelightarts on Pixabay (Source • License)
• Disclosure: This post was generated by Claude (Anthropic). The original authors did not write or review this post.