(TNS) – Back to school season marks the third year that thousands of students around the world will be using AI models like ChatGPT (among them my cousins, who happily tell me when every time they get a job using AI). ). The biggest concern among teachers is that when students use such forms to write essays or come up with ideas for work, they lose the strong and focused thinking that builds critical thinking skills.
But this year, tech companies are increasingly teaching schools to use AI differently. Instead of panicking to stop using it in the classroom, these companies are training teachers how to use AI tools to reduce the time they spend on tasks such as grading, giving feedback to students, or lesson plans. They position AI as a teacher’s greatest time saver.
One company, called Magic School, claims that its AI tools such as question generators and text editors are used by 2.5 million teachers. Khan Academy offers a digital tutor called Khanmigo, which it bills teachers as a “free AI-powered teaching assistant.” Teachers can use it to help students with subjects ranging from privacy to humanities. Writing tutors like Pressto help teachers provide feedback on student essays.
Games from the ed-tech industry often refer to the 2020 report from McKinsey and Microsoft, which found that teachers work an average of 50 hours per week. According to the report, many of those hours include “late nights grading papers, preparing lesson plans, or filling out endless forms.” The authors suggested that adopting AI tools could save teachers 13 hours per week.
The company is not the only one making this announcement. Educators and policymakers have also spent the past year promoting AI in the classroom. Education departments in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and US states like North Carolina and Colorado have issued guidelines on how teachers can effectively and safely implement AI.
And when it comes to how teachers are ready to transfer some of their work to AI models, the answer depends on the work, according to Leon Furze, a teacher and PhD researcher at Deakin University who studies the effects of generative AI. writing lessons and lectures.
“We know from a lot of research that teachers’ work really comes from data collection and analysis, reporting, and communication,” he says. “Those are all areas where AI can help.”
Then there are many non-trivial tasks that teachers doubt AI can do well. They often boil down to two basic teaching tasks: lesson planning and grading. Many companies offer a wide variety of languages ​​that they say can produce lesson plans to suit different curriculum standards. Some teachers, including in some California districts, have used AI models to grade and provide feedback on essays. For these applications of AI, Furze says, many of his teachers do not trust and trust him.
When a company promises to save time on planning and grading, it’s a “big red flag,” he says, because “those are the main part of the job.” He added, “Teaching design is – or should be – thoughtful, creative, even fun.” Automated feedback on skills like argumentative writing: “Students need human feedback, and assessment is a way for teachers to get to know students. Some responses can be automated, but not all. “
So how eager are teachers to adopt AI to save time? Last year, in May, a Pew survey found that only 6% of teachers think AI can provide more benefits than harm in education. But with AI evolving faster than ever, this school year may be when the ed-tech industry begins to overcome them.
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