Artificial intelligence is everywhere. Since ChatGPT was launched in his November 2022, it seems like not a day has passed without hearing headlines screaming about robots taking over our jobs and schools. While much of the media has predictably given negative coverage with humorous stories about cheating and plagiarism, it has been accurate to point out that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to fundamentally change the educational environment for students and teachers. did. So how will AI impact education?
“We're just starting to talk about AI in schools as teachers and students,” said Will Van Rijk, head of history and politics at North London College School (NLCS). According to him, newspapers have reduced the story to “give students an essay question and the AI will answer it.'' But that “narrative misses the point about the benefits that AI brings.”
Van Rijk is acutely aware of the challenges surrounding the implementation of AI in schools. In particular, the legal, ethical, compliance and safeguarding framework that schools must adopt in order to use it is demanding. However, he asserts that “if students and staff are taught in the right way, it can be very beneficial for both parties.”
“AI provides a huge new dimension for students in the classroom,” he says, benefiting their critical thinking, problem-solving and academic research.
He pointed to Perplexity, a new AI tool dubbed the “Google killer” that Amazon's Jeff Bezos recently invested millions of dollars into. “This is an amazing knowledge research tool and will enhance students' ability to access high-quality articles,” he says. “I think this is the best AI tool in education.”
“You can really bring history to life.”
Van Reyk is already using ChatGPT in his lessons, often in role-play scenarios. Students can “re-enact” certain historical events, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, where they can assume the role of US President John F. Kennedy and ask ChatGPT questions, which the AI can then answer. “You can really bring history to life,” he says.
These interactions, in turn, can raise broader questions about AI that can be discussed in the classroom.
For example, Van Rijk describes how his class was studying Britain in the 1950s. When students asked ChatGPT to role model an average person at the time, they quickly answered, “I go to the pub in the evening.” “The default response was men,” Van Rijk said. This led to an interesting class discussion about the biases inherent in AI. “This is a reflection of a biased society, and it's about teaching students to recognize that,” Van Rijk said, adding: important to us. ”
Van Rijk said this narrative moves away from the possibility of cheating and “moves assessment itself to the assumption that all students are using AI, and that students who don't use it well will perform worse. I look forward to that.” Use it in an appropriate manner. ”
“Everyone is catching up.”
Steve Birtles, head of digital teaching and learning at Eton College, takes a cautious view of the emergence of AI assessment. He said, “Basically, the method of evaluating qualifications is [in schools] These need to change before we can make big changes to the way we approach education with AI, such as seated written exams,” he says.
Eton uses ChatGPT to enhance classroom learning. Jonny Noakes, Eton's director of teaching and learning, said its launch less than 18 months means “everyone is trying to catch up”. He explains that there are two reasons why this AI tool has brought about such a big change in schools. First, ChatGPT is an example of “conversational” AI, meaning that “AI is now accessible to anyone who can have a conversation, and even school-age students can now use it in ways never before possible.” ”. And secondly, unlike Claude AI or Google Bard who have his 18+ age rating, ChatGPT has his 13+ age rating.
Like other schools, Eton had to quickly decide what stance it would take on the use of AI in the classroom. “We decided that banning it would effectively end the debate about its appropriate use, and that, if used in the right way, there are legitimate and educationally sound uses. “We believe there is,” Noakes said. “We try to teach our students how to use it appropriately. Help them understand ethical concerns, understand their limitations, and really emphasize academic honesty and integrity.” Masu.”
Birtles said students who were encouraged to use AI were pleasantly surprised and responded, “Oh, we're allowed!” Meanwhile, teachers are “being more cautious.”
“We've been paying a lot of attention lately to helping our colleagues stay up to date,” Noakes says. “For many of my non-technical colleagues, and I have been in one myself, this may seem like a huge challenge, but trying to ignore AI People understand that they have to deal with this because it's not really an option.”
Eton takes a “platform agnostic” approach to teaching students how to use AI. In other words, develop students' skills across a number of AI platforms. The key is “quick engineering,” Birtles said. An AI tool is only as good as the questions you ask. Birtles has created a cookbook of AI “instant recipes” for students and teachers. This is a scenario that can help you get started with new technology tools.
Joe Sherlock, headteacher at GDST’s Putney High School, believes it is important that schools don’t jump on the AI bandwagon without first being clear about what they want to achieve. “AI has been around for a long time. The game changer is generative AI. There’s a lot of hype around ChatGPT, but for us AI is just another tool, part of a modern academic approach. Department,” she says.
She believes that the use of AI should be something that “we choose to use” rather than something that is default or given. And it should not be done at the expense of developing students' critical thinking skills.
“I think it's really important that we stand up and say… Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.”
She wants her students to understand their own “great brains” first, and remains alert to anything that diminishes their skills or inhibits the natural learning process. . “It is our responsibility to nurture the minds of our students in the ways we need to,” she says.
She points to Putney High School's (PHS) learning science curriculum across all subjects from grades 7 to 13. Ms. Sherlock says she has two purposes for it. She is a self-sufficient learner who is not afraid of challenges and is used to struggling. ”
It's all about, “How can I get my beautiful brain to do beautiful things?” says Sherlock. Based on current research, the younger grades are taught through practical techniques, whether it's orienteering with a map and compass or the older grades learning how to unleash the power of their brains.
Now in its sixth year, “we can see success in the raw results,” Ms. Sherlock says.
In summer 2023, we achieved a school-best 9-8 grade at GCSE, achieving the highest number of A*s at A-level since 2011.
“But what's even more exciting is that there are girls now taking the learning sciences curriculum who are fully developed. They're saying to us, 'That's because we are Because you know how things work…you've given us skills that go above and beyond.' Test Hall. That's all we want to do.”
“We missed a step along the way.”
Brighton Girls, like its sister GDST school Putney High School, is passionate about all things STEM, with students coding from Year 2, design thinking integrated into the curriculum and AI used in the classroom. . “We want our students to feel from a young age that this is their world, their space,” says its principal, Rosie McCall.
However, Ms McCall has another personal view on the emergence of AI in the classroom, and that relates to pupils with special educational needs (SEN). “There’s a lot of talk right now about generative AI, but I think we’re missing a step along the way,” she says.
Her own 10-year-old child is neuroatypical and suffers from dyslexia and dyscalculia. His biggest barrier to learning is putting pen to paper. He just needs to be able to write a fluent essay using a simple speech recognition AI tool like Speech to Text.
“We use this all the time,” McCall says. “This is non-generative AI. We jumped on the generative side, but non-generative AI is very powerful and could be really transformative in terms of removing barriers to learning.” Even generative AI tools can be very helpful for students with SEN, with Ms McCall citing Mindstone, an open source AI platform that can simplify large texts all at once.
But as long as our “rigorous testing system” insists on subjecting children to pen-and-paper final exams, there will be a great deal of fear governing how children, especially neurodiverse students, learn. Yes, Ms. McCall says.
“The testing system is driving everything,” she says. She would like to see less talk about generative AI and more focus on removing barriers for SEN students and leveraging tools that have an immediate impact on students.
“Using AI for teachers”
But Tom Rogerson, headteacher at Cottesmore School, believes in the potential of generative AI as a “teacher wellbeing enhancer” and wants to take it even faster. . In the autumn of 2023, Mr. Rogerson attracted global attention when he launched a female AI chatbot called “Abigail Bailey,'' which Mr. Rogerson “appointed'' to be the “principal'' to work with him at West Sussex Preparatory School. But behind his clever PR story lies a more serious intention.
From the moment he first discovered ChatGPT, Rogerson saw the tool's potential to solve a serious retention and recruitment crisis in schools by reducing the “paperwork pandemic” burdening teachers. He said he felt it.
“What I'm doing is making AI work for teachers, and that's the whole point. I want to encourage teachers.”
And Mr Rogerson is putting his money, time and energy where his mouth is, organizing the first conference on AI in schools in Cotsmore in May 2023, and hosting a series of talks aimed at teachers in the state and independent sectors. We are holding an AI master class, which is a huge event. Last September.
Mr. Rogerson argued that these events were interdisciplinary. His two obsessions are the welfare of teachers and the inequality of his AI. It’s one thing for well-resourced independent schools to invest time and money in implementing AI, but what about state schools? For example, ChatGPT 3.5 is free, but ChatGPT Plus, which with voice activation allows him to access GPT-4, is not free and is behind a paywall. “We're not building an AI superpower at Cotsmore,” Rogerson said. “We want everyone to become an AI superpower. We want to be inclusive.”
And as for Abigail Bailey, she currently serves as ABI, Cotsmore's “strategic leadership AI bot.” It turns out that anthropomorphism is prohibited in AI, so ABI no longer has a human form, but Mr. Rogerson uses it regularly. “Educational leadership can be a lonely place,” he says, but the ABI is an extremely useful tool, providing a sounding board and sensory experience at “1 a.m. when the vice principal is fast asleep in bed.” It's also a checker.
This article first appeared in 'The Week' Independent School Guide Spring/Summer 2024edited by Amanda Constance.