AI with a Lesson Plan ??

For the second week in a row, I am looking at AI going back to school. This technology is transforming academia and will continue to enhance human-led teaching. While there are many promising possibilities associated with this technology, they are not without risk.

Recently, the World Economic Forum convened to discuss the future of education, highlighting four key areas where AI can address gaps in the current educational system, driving progress in an “Education 4.0” landscape:

1. Teachers will have more time for student engagement as AI will streamline procedural tasks.?
2. Educators will have access to real-time feedback and analysis that will support the future of non-standardized testing and personalized learning strategies.
3. The digital gap will lessen; students will build the skill sets needed to work in an AI-dominated world. Thus, teaching about AI is as crucial to learning as is the implementation of it.
4. Students will gain a tailored learning experience through personalized tutoring. Currently, tutoring increases an average student’s performance by an 16 percentile points, moving them into the top third of performers; however, access to high impact tutoring is rare with only 2 percent of US children receiving it. Especially for neurodiverse students, AI’s personalized teaching capabilities could “level the playing field” for diverse learning needs and backgrounds.?

However, AI is only as good as the data behind it. Educational gains and increased equity because of AI are not a given. While AI has the potential to revolutionize teaching strategies, many school officials are concerned with cheating and plagiarism, data privacy, the mental health effects associated with rising online use. There is also debate over potential bias in the training data of large language models.

To ensure AI is harnessed for good, we must ensure that its outputs are not harmful and that it does not cut off important social and emotional elements of learning. As the World Economic Forum’s report concludes, the collaboration between human expertise and AI capabilities is critical to truly transform educational outcomes.?

Tip of the Week

Every week,?I will include an exercise so that you can practice the skills explored in the newsletter. Try these tips to practice using a chatbot to benefit your learning:

1. Use “edit” with your chatbot to better respond; large language models improve through repeated iterations and when giving clearly defined parameters.?
2. While your chatbot is great as a brainstorming tool, it can also help you refine your work. Ask it for writing advice or for a grade.
3. Already thinking about midterms or a big project at work? Ask your chatbot to come up with a study plan for you to ace your next test!

??? Prompts (for copy and paste):

1. "Please edit this response for clarity and make the tone more [formal/creative/friendly]?" Here’s the original text: [Insert response]."
2. "I’d like a grade for this piece of writing [insert text]. Please evaluate it based on [content/clarity/creativity/grammar] and suggest improvements?"
3. "I have a midterm (or big project) coming up in [subject]. Can you create a study plan for me? I have [X weeks/days] to prepare, and I want to focus on [key areas or chapters]."