Learning for Teachers
In 2019 a government report predicted that by 2040 generative artificial intelligence (GAI) would be able to simulate human intelligence, replicating high level thinking skills. In fact, ChatGPT took about 3 years to achieve this. Artificial intelligence is progressing at a rate beyond all expectations.
AI has been part of our lives for a while - in the form of annoying chat bots, facial recognition, Alexa, Seri and Amazon suggestions for our next purchase. But this AI was narrow and task specific. The next generation is far more expansive and creative.
Generative AI may not yet be a regular part of your life, but if you have a child over the age of 10, it probably is part of theirs. Last month, Theo and Ben put together a report for the BBC on AI usage amongst their peers in an English secondary school. 31 out of 33 had used it in their schoolwork.
Some of this was positive. One classmate reported “I didn’t know what the question meant … so I put in ChatGPT and it just simplified it” Another said, “When you’re doing homework, there’s no teacher in the classroom. It’s like a teacher when you are home.”
The report also admitted that some students used AI to cheat. Although it wasn’t always a good idea - one complained that ChatGPT mixed up all the dates for a history essay; another that 90% of its answers on a physics assignment were wrong.
However, like computers and search engines a generation ago the debate isn’t - ‘should we or shouldn’t we?’; it is, ‘how can schools make sure that new technology is used responsibly and productively.’ We cannot afford to wait for a new generation of teachers who grew up with the latest tech changes to join the workforce. Right now, teachers of all subjects and all ages have to consider and adapt their practice.
Today, ISA hosted a google summit so that our teachers and teachers from throughout the region could grapple with what the latest changes in digital technology will mean for our practice. Our keynote speaker, Bukky Yusuf, a leader figure in ed tech, began the day by laying out the current state of AI, and some of the approaches schools are taking. This was followed by a day of workshops exploring specific ways we as teachers can adapt our practice to ensure the latest technology enhances rather than detracts.
At its best, generative artificial intelligence will do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ allowing students to focus on higher level thinking skills. GAI is not going to do the work for students - as Ben and Theo’s unfortunate classmates discovered in History and Physics students students need to evaluate what is generated, to verify the information, then to edit and revise it. They are still responsible for the final product.
Just as students still need their brains going forward, they will still need teachers, who are not just transmitters of knowledge, but guides and relationship builders: people who know where their students are at, and what next steps they need to take; not just knowing academic guides, but social and emotional ones as well.
Technology may be changing faster than expected but there are facts about human nature that remain constant. At our summit today, we took the opportunity to connect with others to learn and improve, with a passion for educating young people for the world around them.
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