Modern classrooms are ever-evolving, and today’s teachers are searching for ways to make their instruction more effective and engaging. But there’s a problem: teachers often find themselves overwhelmed with administrative tasks, making it difficult to focus on what really matters—helping students learn. Thankfully, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is stepping in to lighten the load and enhance pedagogical strategies. Here’s how:
Developing Explanations, Examples, and Analogies
First, let’s delve into the significance of using explanations, examples, and analogies in the classroom. The human brain doesn’t operate like a computer; we’re not programmed to simply absorb raw information. Instead, we learn best when new knowledge is framed within contexts that are relatable or familiar to us. That’s where examples and analogies come in. They serve as frameworks or scaffolding that allow students to understand and integrate new information effectively.
One of the time-consuming tasks for any teacher is to generate explanations, examples, and analogies that make complex concepts accessible. AI can assist here by creating tailored educational content based on a subject and learning level. For instance, AI can generate explanations, analogies, and examples related to the concept of ‘scaffolding’ in education, which can be particularly beneficial for college freshmen studying psychology.
Content creation
AI algorithms, such as GPT-4, offer a unique ability to generate contextually relevant explanations, examples, and analogies tailored to the needs of your student body. These models can work with prompts that specify the educational level, subject matter, and focus of the teaching, allowing the generated content to be directly applicable in the classroom setting.
For example, if you’re teaching the concept of “scaffolding in education” to college freshmen, the AI can generate examples specific to this level of understanding. It might produce a detailed analogy comparing the process of scaffolding to teaching an apprentice chef how to cook a complex dish—starting with simple tasks like chopping vegetables and gradually moving on to more complex ones as the apprentice gains more confidence and skills.
Low-Stakes Testing
Assessing a student’s knowledge is crucial for effective teaching. Low-stakes tests, or formative assessments, are essential to understand what the student knows and adapt the teaching strategy accordingly. AI can help create these tests based on the subject matter you’re teaching. Whether you are using Bing in creative mode to scrape information from the web or relying on more isolated systems like GPT-4, you can obtain a set of questions and even answer keys for your subject. However, it is of course essential to double-check these AI-generated assessments to ensure their accuracy.
Creating a Tailored Syllabus
Another benefit is the personalisation aspect. With AI, educators can easily adapt the content to meet the specific needs of different learners. For example, if you find that your students have a strong background in psychology but less understanding in sociology, the AI-generated explanations can incorporate psychology examples to help clarify sociological concepts.
Building a syllabus that incorporates effective pedagogical methods like retrieval practice, formative assessment, and active learning can be a daunting task. AI can simplify this by generating a foundational syllabus, which teachers can then further adapt to suit their unique teaching needs. For example, if you’re teaching a course on Cognitive Load Theory to college freshmen, AI can help you develop a syllabus that incorporates a mix of direct instruction, active learning, and other proven educational strategies.
Classroom Dialogues
Even public speaking isn’t off the table. AI can assist in scripting what you could say during lectures. While no AI can yet match the expertise and delivery of an experienced teacher, these scripts can serve as a useful starting point for engaging classroom dialogues.
Effectively using AI in educational settings requires well-crafted prompts. Good prompts give the AI model context, specifying what role it’s taking (such as a teaching assistant), and what it’s supposed to generate (examples, explanations, analogies, etc.). This could be as simple as asking the AI, “Generate an example to explain the concept of osmosis for high school students,” or as intricate as asking for a series of analogies that connect a new concept to multiple disciplines.
The Verdict
It’s crucial to understand that AI doesn’t replace the need for a skilled educator; rather, it serves as a powerful tool in the teacher’s arsenal. While AI can handle the generation of educational content, the teacher provides the necessary human elements of empathy, context, and adaptability that a machine cannot replicate. It can handle many of the time-consuming tasks that educators often grapple with, enabling them to focus on more impactful aspects of teaching. From generating educational content to creating low-stakes tests and from aiding in syllabus design to even scripting lectures, AI offers a suite of tools that can make teaching more efficient, effective, and personalized.
In sum, AI is a promising tool that can be integrated into various educational platforms and software, allowing teachers to concentrate on what they do best: teach. Just remember, as with any tool, it’s important to use AI responsibly and critically, always double-checking its outputs and ensuring they meet your specific needs and standards.
This post includes a summary of the video by Wharton Interactive’s Faculty Director Ethan Mollick and Director of Pedagogy Lilach Mollick on AI for Teachers, which can be accessed on YouTube.
#Education, #ArtificialIntelligence, #TeachingAids, #Personalisation, #ContentCreation
Amir-Homayoun Javadi, PhD
Founder and director at 0&1 LTD
