Artificial Intelligence: The Technology of Tomorrow is In School Today
It may be the only thing that educators, parents and students agree on — AI is not going away. The question of how and when to use artificial intelligence properly in the classroom is a different challenge.
“I think students, particularly in high school, are seeing two different academic routes involving AI,” said Saloni Vastani, an associate professor of marketing at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. “Students are seeing teachers who are embracing it and saying, ‘let’s use it and see how to make it better’ or ‘let’s not use it and learn in the traditional way without being too dependent on technology’.”
The real challenge with AI is that “students are using it,” said Dr. Joshua Thomason, executive director at TrekAI and the vice president of finance and operations at the Greater Atlanta Christian School (GAC). “Reality is that too many teachers and administrators have their heads in the sand and believe it will go away. It is here and we have to figure it out and put up guardrails if it’s going to be successful.”
Artificial Intelligence 101
First off, for those who may not be up to date on the latest technology, let’s figure out what exactly AI or ChatGPT is. Launched in 2022, ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot that was developed by OpenAI. Within a year, ChatGPT became the fastest growing consumer software application ever and birthed a number of competing products such as Gemini, Claude, Llama, Ernie, Grok and Microsoft’s Copilot. ChatGPT was integrated into the Apple Intelligence feature on Apple’s operating systems, thanks to a partnership with OpenAl.
Basically, AI generates human-like conversational responses to questions posed by students or, frankly, anyone. It can answer questions, guide life-like conversations and yes, help a student cheat by writing its essay. ChatGPT pops up when you’re on a store’s website asking if you need help — often with a person’s name and image on it. Don’t be fooled. You’re talking to a technological entity, not a real person.
The AI Revolution
AI is at the center of a philosophical and practical collusion between an educational system based on traditional teaching methods centered around book learning and rote memorization, and one that incorporates technology —especially since students do the majority of their assignments on a computer.
The current teaching model “mirrors an industrial model of putting widgets through an assembly line. It’s broken and needs to be redefined and rebuilt in order to meet the new society,” said Thomason. “We need a more personalized experience for students. The more research we did, we found the only way to create a personal experience for each student was through AI and machine learning.”
“For years we said the process is the important part, not the product, but we grade the product,” said Jennifer Thomson Hall, associate director for teaching effectiveness at Georgia State University. “We have to reconsider that. But the trick is to figure out at what point AI is taking over. Students are going to look for feedback. It can be from their grandmother, a fellow student or a machine. Someone or something will tell them what their mistake is and here’s why. It’s the source of the feedback that’s different.”
Paul Naine, a physicist and father of two, says AI is part of a revolution in a new way of teaching to children who grow up tied to technology. “When I went to school, we had to learn and memorize information, like the times table. The reasoning was that you might not always have a calculator,” he said. “The focus on teaching today should be on the ability to reason and have access to information, not doing the times table. It’s a different mindset. We have to give them information in a format that they want and is customized to them.”
The Pros and Cons of AI
Proponents argue that AI allows students to have a more specialized learning environment that helps them think through problems, develop their creativity, assist students with learning disabilities, and provide first-class instruction for children in low-performing schools around the world, as well as enabling access to information outside classroom hours.
There are benefits for teachers; AI helps identify students who are struggling, so they can provide more personalized instruction. It also frees them from teaching content and doing administrative duties thus allowing them time to assist students on their individual learning paths.
One of the biggest challenges for teachers is that “it’s scary,” said Thomason. “They worry that AI will replace them or that it will dramatically change what they do. We have to overcome this hurdle and help teachers see that AI can be incredibly helpful. Pragmatically, they need to do something because their students are using it. They need to guide and control it.”
Hall thinks of AI as a “superpower tutor. Say you’re working on a paper or even a math problem, AI can walk you through what you have done wrong and ask the appropriate questions you need to come to the conclusion on your own,” she said.
She sees the benefits with her children. Her college student daughter uses ChatGPT to prepare for tests by having it quiz her on the material. She also used AI when her attempts at making fudge went awry. She took a picture of the fudge on the stove, sent it to AI and asked what she did wrong. Tips on making fudge came back. “It’s fascinating to watch,” she said.
Her fifth-grade son is autistic and has communication issues. He uses AI to “help him frame his communication very specifically to get the outcome he wants. He gets an instant response to the language he’s using and if AI can’t understand him, he won’t get the results,” she said. “The technology is helping him think how his words can lead to miscommunication. It’s not the same talking with a human where he can say something, and it can be misconstrued in many ways. It’s great for him because he can learn how to communicate better without people hurting him, judging him or making fun of him.”
One of the biggest negatives about AI, as with the Internet or Wikipedia, is that you don’t know if the information you’re getting back is accurate or not. AI is only as efficient as its database. Garbage in, garbage out. In fact, between 10 to 20 percent of what is in ChatGPT’s knowledge base is wrong. And, that’s a big problem for students.
Especially for students, some guardrails over AI are necessary, Vastani noted. “It’s similar to controlling what they can view on the Internet where they are also getting information,” she said. “What prompts you give have a huge influence on the output, and that, in turn becomes part of the larger data repository. Children are using tools that can result in any vulnerability similar to the way social media is doing it to society and children.”
Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
An example of using it in the classroom, she said, is if a student is having trouble in math. The student sends a snapshot of his work and AI will help walk the student through what they are doing wrong by asking the appropriate questions that help the student figure out the problem. “It is on-demand individualized help,” she said.
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is helping develop the curriculum for a just-announced artificial intelligence training program for students in underserved communities, particularly on the Southside. Georgia State University and the financial nonprofit Operation HOPE expect the project will train students from kindergarten through college on AI.
While APS doesn’t have a specific policy related to Artificial Intelligence platforms such as Chat GPT and others, “the district supports the effective and active use of technology, focusing on the task and not the tool, including the use of AI as a complement to classroom instruction and the productivity of employees,” said Seth Coleman, director of media & social media for the system. “We understand that AI does not and will not act as a replacement for human interaction and guidance. Students are allowed to utilize AI but must remain in alignment with all Atlanta Public Schools and Atlanta Board of Education policies governing copying and plagiarism.”
Thomason helped develop an AI-based learning program, TrekAI, that was developed by the Ethos School, an online school at GAC. It’s an industry leader in innovative, accessible faith-based online education that is not only used at GAC but 23 Georgia schools and 40 more across the globe.
Since reports show that as many as 80 percent of U.S. students use ChatGPT, the school developed its own AI that supports teachers and better serves their students individually. “We realized that AI can help solidify concepts and help students understand better,” Thomason said. “They’re actually an assistant for teachers — not a replacement. It allows teachers to reclaim that time with their students before because they spent so much time delivering content and doing administrative tasks.”
“Teachers can load in study guides and students can use it to practice and then ask questions as to why they’re getting it wrong,” Thomason says. “They can also get feedback on their papers, such as suggestions to change things. It also lets the teacher know which student is struggling and they can get help in the moment.”
Another advantage is that the “conversation” is at grade level and sensitive to a student’s ability or knowledge. “If I’m in 8th grade physical science asking a question and I’m getting back answers that are at a PhD level or 3rd grade level, it’s not helping. Ours prompts it at grade level,” he said.
Whether it’s the TrekAI system or ChatGPT, Thomason insists that usage encourages students to think Socratically and doesn’t just give them the answers. “Students shouldn’t be let loose. If done correctly, AI teaches students to think critically because they have to keep asking the right questions to get an understanding of what you know and guide you to a higher level.”
Getting incorrect feedback, and using it, is one of AI’s problems in the classroom; the other, of course, is cheating. According to Hall, some studies show that 80 percent of students recently cheated using AI and 50 percent didn’t think it was wrong. “It’s always gone on — whether it’s AI writing your paper or your friend,” she said.
Teachers have always had the mindset that “If you cheat, I will catch you,” said Thomason. There are, of course, tools built in to help catch those using AI to do their work but, he said, there is an “incredibly high” false positive rate for certain groups of students such as autistic and those learning English. Still, even without tools, teachers can usually tell if the language is stilted, or words are used that the student normally would not use — or is similar to another student’s work.
You can’t “build walls high enough” to keep students from using AI or ChatGPT,” said Thomason. “But we are seeing these technology paradigm shifts in teaching, and it is shaping our future. Parents recognize that it is helping their kids. Teachers recognize it. Everyone needs to know how to help students use it correctly.”
– Mary Welch
