Teacher perspectives on AI in the classroom
As part of our outreach for our report, AI in education: where we are and what happens next, we spoke to our communities of school and English language teachers to hear about the impact AI is having in their classrooms—on both themselves and their students.
Here, we shine a light on three stories from Hong Kong, Italy, and Spain.
Ms Betty Cheng
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give ChatGPT a score of 6: AI has provided a good start for us, but we need to rely on ourselves to reach full marks.”
What impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having in your school and on your learners today? Are you or your students using AI or other digital technologies to support your teaching?
The rise of generative AI is dramatically impacting the future of education. Regardless of whether it is ChatGPT or multimedia authoring tools which use prompts, the language model greatly lowers the technical threshold for using the tools. There is a possibility that we will soon live in a world where everybody knows how to operate these tools with basic knowledge and, as all of them are web-based, you don’t need to spend time installing software. The tools are available anytime, anywhere with internet access. All controls are at your fingertips, and some of them are even free of charge.
Based on the two features mentioned above, generative artificial intelligence (GAI) reaches a far wider range of people and at a much faster speed than any technology, and this will become the big change for humans. Take ChatGPT as an example: it is like a 24-hour teaching assistant for students, teaching knowledge inside or outside of the classroom. It is also a companion that you can talk to and share secrets with. However, the attitude of teachers is crucial to empowering students to learn with AI tools.
Do we resist using ChatGPT and not allow students to use the tool in class? Or, on the other hand, do we actively explore the flexibility of ChatGPT in teaching and flipped learning—where learners acquire knowledge before class—which can facilitate the exchange of ideas during lessons?
I believe GAI could creative personalized learning, with teachers able to offer guidance and demonstrate how to use it properly based on individual student needs.
So how do I leverage GAI tools to improve learning outcomes for students? In the past, I used to ask students to express their understanding and feelings toward the learning materials in multimedia formats, such as through videos, songs, animations, and so on. But now, students could use AI tools to express their point of view and create the same kind of media by writing prompts, which may take much less time and make learning more efficient. This also provides a chance to work on their weaknesses: for example, learners who are shy could use an AI presenter tool to help them express themselves more easily. They could never experience self-fulfillment and achievement by doing that through the existing learning model.
Based on your experiences, how are you feeling about the rise of AI in education?
GAI is very helpful to teachers when preparing for lessons. I always get inspired by ChatGPT: for example, by its suggestions for questions related to daily life, or its analysis on the learning gaps of a student. The answers it gives may not be perfect, but it keeps improving through communication.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give ChatGPT a score of 6: AI has provided a good start for us, but we need to rely on ourselves to reach full marks. AI may give out wrong answers for a simple maths question. We are also aware of unanswered questions around quality and security. All in all, it depends on how we embrace the benefits of AI in education and make good use of it. As a beginner, there is a lot of sharing to be done on how to prompt AI and get started with using it. Let’s explore the transformative potential of GAI in education systems and improve outcomes for learning at all levels.
Massimo Soranzio
“As a teacher, [AI] can rapidly give me new material to work on, but as an educator proper, I am more interested in making my students understand how not to turn it into the “new frontier” of cheating.”
What impact is AI having in your school and on your learners today? Are you or your students using AI or other digital technologies to support your teaching?
With the advent of ChatGPT, I have actually stopped assigning certain tasks like “write a 300-word essay on…” for homework. But AI can be useful for guided and individual work in class, where the teacher can mediate and stimulate a critical approach to the use of technology.
In my school, a new AI course was inaugurated in the 2022/23 school year. I am not teaching in that specific course, but I have always been keen on trying new things: my first use of the internet at school dates back to 1994!
As I like playing with the language and giving students an idea of “what language can do”, I also assign my “older” students creative tasks that involve, for instance, writing poems. I invite them then to try and use ChatGPT to see what the machine can produce which is fun and rewarding, albeit often far from decent quality. Students will tend to discuss the results, often disagreeing and using even more language to justify their opinions.
Based on your experiences, how are you feeling about the rise of AI in education?
I am worried about homework and individual study. New ways of motivating younger students to use AI as a tool that can help them—not as a bot to do their homework for them—need to be devised. That’s why I think it has to be part of our work in the classroom: so we can teach students how to use this new tool and to recognize its limits, as well as each student’s individual talent.
As a teacher, it can rapidly give me new material to work on, but as an educator proper, I am more interested in making my students understand how not to turn it into the “new frontier” of cheating.
Sonjie Kennington
“I think AI is going to revolutionize education (and almost every other aspect of the way we live) in ways we cannot yet imagine.”
What impact is AI having in your school and on your learners today? Are you or your students using AI or other digital technologies to support your teaching?
I have some students who are using ChatGPT to help them when they have to use English at work. They have told me that the changes ChatGPT makes to what they have written draws their attention to mistakes or new phrases, vocabulary, and structures they would never have thought of using. I think it’s helping them to advance more quickly—it’s like having a free, 24/7 teacher available to correct their work and give feedback.
Another way I am beginning to use AI with my students is as a more customizable form of learner’s dictionary. I have found that with lower level students, the definitions in some learner’s dictionaries are sometimes too complex, while if you ask ChatGPT for a simple definition using a clear prompt, the definitions may not be so complete, but are simpler and easier to understand.
Based on your experiences, how are you feeling about the rise of AI in education?
I think AI is going to revolutionize education (and almost every other aspect of the way we live) in ways we cannot yet imagine. Some of these may be negative, but in the same way that every huge technological advance has some negative consequences. I think on the whole it’s going to be a huge leap, giving teachers and learners more tools and resources.