Educators Should Embrace AI In Schools
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping our lives. Not only is it changing how we live and work, but also how our students learn. Educators must embrace this new technology to prepare students to operate in their ever-changing world.
Despite concerns among parents and educators that AI systems such as ChatGPT and Bard will help students cheat, several states are providing guidance for how teachers can use AI in the classroom. States such as California, North Carolina, and West Virginia recently became some of the first states to create guidance for how students and educators can utilize this technological advancement. Other states should follow suit to improve classroom efficiency, student learning, and preparedness for
AI’s assimilation into the modern workforce has already begun. Studies have shown AI has led to greater workplace productivity, increased efficiency, problem-solving, and innovation. The Nielsen Norman Group, a user-experience research association, found that generative AI systems have increased employee productivity by 66 percent. AI is here to stay. To equip students to enter the workforce, educators must give them the skills to use these programs effectively and wisely.
If AI systems could lead to better outcomes in the workplace, why should they not improve teachers’ productivity as well? AI could simplify the workload for teachers, helping them create lesson plans, grade assignments, and prepare quizzes and tests. This would enable teachers to focus more on teaching and interacting with their students.
For all it can do to improve schools as workplaces, how will it impact the quality of education for children? Will it actually harm student learning?
Not necessarily. It, however, will transform it. AI also cannot teach opinions, values, or moral reasoning. These are skills students will always need to learn on their own along with educators and families. But when used properly, AI can enhance student learning and present new opportunities for critical thinking instruction.
Last year, educators Vinod Aithal and Jasmin Silver wrote for Cambridge University explaining how using AI can enhance critical thinking. They argued that by engaging with AI, students can develop the ability to critically evaluate assumptions and challenge information provided by AI systems.
States such as West Virginia have been creating AI guidance for schools to encourage responsible usage. Erika Klose, the director of PK-12 Academic Support at the state’s Department of Education, told Education Week that they see it “as an opportunity to better our instruction so that we might not be giving as many assignments that students could use AI to complete.” As more teachers learn to use this powerful tool, lesson plans and assignments will only improve..
Last year, I met with Life Skills Academy, a microschool in Las Vegas, where educators use AI for tutoring, editing, researching, and brainstorming. In addition, Life Skills has taught its students to use AI as a tool to catch errors and biases and to think critically through ideas. Such innovations will be key to unlocking AI’s potential in the classroom.
AI is not perfect — there is no such thing as a perfect learning tool — but it’s also nothing for parents or educators to fear. Educators have long been wary of technology advancements, and used to fear computers and calculators in classrooms because they were worried students would be too reliant on these machines for their work. Nowadays, these are commonly used in schools and the workplace.
AI is no different, and it’s not going away. Educators and students alike must learn how to incorporate these new tools into their lives and learning. As they do, it will enhance how students learn and people work.