As the most talked about emerging technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been causing a world-wide stir through its capabilities with just a couple clicks of a button. For teachers, however, AI has certainly generated heated discussions on its impact on the development of learning for their students. With all its benefits and capabilities, is AI a worthwhile tool for the classroom, or is the risk greater than the reward?
Potential Biases in AI
Although AI stands to bring many benefits to the classroom setting, teachers should be advised that no technology is perfect- especially ones that were trained on imperfect humans. AI tools have a vast potential danger in biases that occur within it, which can even amplify biases that are pre-existing in our human psyche rather than helping us combat them. So many of these tools can pose serious equity issues as well, unfortunately discriminating against students behind in grade-level or are neurodivergent, as training might have been limited with these kinds of experiences. This blog post dives even deeper into potential problems that can be encountered when using AI in regards to equity and bias.
Of course, while it is important to be aware of ethical issues associated with AI tools and resources, there are ways to combat and rectify them rather than unrealistically unbanning them from the classroom. For one, curricula in the classroom should include critical thinking activities that can teach students to question AI results and identify potential biases. Using a critical literacy lens, students should be enabled to identify and question which perspectives are most being severed through AI and the roots of the biases that may be embedded within the program. Additionally, other ways to rectify these issues can include exploring more than just the most well-known AI tools, like ChatGPT, to find tools that are specifically designed to reduce bias. This blog post both discusses bias within AI but also practical tips for how to analyze AI for biases and recognize them, highlighting the importance of not neglecting this potential danger in integrating AI tools. The small example included within could be a great introductory activity for students on how to analyze digital tools for potential ethical issues!
Pros and Cons of AI in the Classroom
With the advent of AI in this teaching profession comes a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. On the plus side, AI will be saving teachers from so many administrative tasks, like grading, freeing up time for more important tasks like more intentional planning. AI can help teachers speed up processes like lesson planning while at the same time allowing the addition of more personal and engaging aspects. Similarly, AI can allow students to engage with programs and systems that are more personalized and engaging and can be customized to their specific needs and interests. This blog post discusses benefits to AI inclusion in the classroom and even suggests tools that could be useful to teachers!
Regarding the negatives, no technology is perfect, and relying on AI without considering possible errors or biases within AI can create trouble in the classroom. It’s important to both be aware and instruct students to think about AI-produced content through a critical lens, always considering potential biases within. Additionally, being careful about the ways students use AI is necessary, as students should never have to lean on AI to do any hard thinking or learn skills because of a dependence on technology. They should learn and hone their own critical thinking skills and tasks like research and writing and merely use AI resources as a guide and help to supplement their own critical thinking and individual ideas.
A New AI Tool to Try!
During my planning, I used Mindmeister as an AI tool for my unit plan on prejudice and racial identity. With this tool, I planned for students to use it collaboratively to develop a Class Identity Map. After reading a graphic novel dealing with the topic of racial identity and fitting it, students would add on to a collective class “identity map”, where they can reflect on their own identities in a multi-faceted way, including race along with other aspects like family, interests, ethnicity and more. As students worked on it collaboratively, the AI system behind this tool would help students develop ideas through smart mind mapping, auto-layout, and predictive text to generate suggestions and even images. I attached an example of what this would look like below!
TCE Thresholds
- Education is not neutral/Teaching is political
- This threshold aligns with AI’s influence in the classroom as it has become a heaty subject of discussion in the realm of education, with some advocating for schools to ban its use due to an increase in student plagiarism and cheating, and some advocating for its inclusion in classrooms given its increasing introduction to workplaces. As such, it has become a political issue in itself, and its place in education could never be considered neutral. Many students in school learn in school, whether implicitly or explicitly, that AI is considered cheating and bad, and it almost always has a negative connotation when discussed being used as a tool for assignments. This is most certainly a political viewpoint, whereas other sides argue that jobs are requiring AI literacy and knowledge, and if schools do not help provide the next generation with these tools they will be severely disadvantaged. In addition, as it was mentioned previously, AI can have biases and ethical issues embedded within the systems, and as such, can be viewed as political due to the few perspectives and identities it actually serves.
- Teaching is/as intellectual engagement
- With the growing frequency of AI tools comes the need for teachers to adapt and learn more about it and how it could be approached in the classroom. Teachers are always having to learn new things, and with AI there is no difference. AI is a new technological tool that teachers should be encouraged to learn and adapt, keeping up with current and emerging technologies and instructional practices that can engage both teachers and students. For instance, there are a variety of different ways teachers can use AI assistance in the classroom, such as to generate analogies and misconceptions. Thinking on the spot can be difficult at times, and so knowing how to use new and emerging tools like AI as intellectual engagement can be very beneficial!
Your post brings up some important points about AI’s role in education, particularly the challenge of balancing its potential benefits with ethical and political considerations. I appreciate your perspective on how teachers must continually adapt and stay engaged with new technologies, and I agree that AI literacy is crucial as it becomes a workplace standard. Have you considered specific ways schools could promote AI literacy while also addressing the risks, like bias or overreliance?
Thank you for your feedback! I think tackling the issue head on by having students view AI generated work and responses through a critical literacy lens as they would any text is already a key component of being aware of the potential ethical issues. Regarding overreliance, I think making sure students are engaged ensures they actually want to do their own thinking, and by having them connect it to their own experiences they are totally unable to use AI to help them with that- AI doesn’t know the intricacies of their lives, after all!
Your use of Mindmeister for planning your unit on prejudice and racial identity is innovative. The collaborative Class Identity Map sounds like a powerful way for students to reflect on their identities. Incorporating AI to assist in idea development and visual representation is a great approach – I really liked the attached picture! The use of a graphic novel to explore these themes provides a relevant and enaging context for students.
How did the students respond to using AI tools for their identity mapping?
Thank you so much for your feedback! I am currently not in the classroom, so I have been testing out the resources personally to see if it could be something in the future that is helpful. I thought it was simple and easy to use, but hopefully soon I get to actually have students use it and see for themselves!