Artificial Intelligence in K-12 Education: Keeping Students at the Center
What is the future of education?
I was recently at an Edtech conference and the first thing we were asked to do was to type "the future of education is..." into an AI image generator.
We quickly noticed that many of these images didn't depict students.
What now?
It's not too late.
Tackling this issue before new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are in every single classroom is our best bet at keeping students at the center of education.
Here are 3 ways we can work towards maintaining a student-centered approach.
1. We have to prioritize learning outcomes and instructional strategies.
As educators, our focus should always be on learning outcomes and instructional strategies, with technology serving as a supplementary tool.
The role of technology, particularly AI, should be seen as a facilitator and a vehicle that helps students achieve their learning goals.
Emphasizing a pedagogy-first approach encourages intentionality and allows us to spend more time teaching skills rather than facts and content.
2. We should focus on developing character and teaching virtues.
Education shapes individuals. We teach people, not subjects.
In the age of AI integration, it's crucial to instill virtues and character traits such as perseverance, integrity, creativity, and empathy, over mere efficiency and productivity.
Our emphasis should be on educating the whole child, recognizing that qualities beyond academic knowledge are integral to student success.
3. We must equip teachers.
The concept of "Human-AI-Human" has become increasingly popular as companies and schools shape their policies on AI usage.
What is it?
Former CEO of IBM Ginni Rometty reminds us that artificial intelligence must not replace human intelligence.
"Human-AI-Human" describes an approach where ideas begin and end with the complexity of thought, intuition, and morality that can only come from a human being.
AI is then used in the middle of that process to summarize information, correct errors, or enhance the content it has been fed by a human.
For a successful Human-AI-Human approach, it's important to invest in educating teachers about AI.
According to a 2023 survey done by the Pew Research Center, over one third of U.S. public school K-12 teachers answered "not sure" as to the impact of AI tools in education.
With many students having access to AI technology already, it's even more important to make sure that teachers are well-equipped to teach them how to utilize it responsibly.
This means teachers should be made aware of both the benefits and drawbacks of AI integration.
Teachers should also be equipped to distinguish between AI-generated content and authentic student work.
Ultimately, the better teachers understand and use AI, the more effectively they can guide their students to use it thoughtfully.
The Future of Education is...
Innovative and exciting?
Uncertain and scary?
Fill in the blank.
As artificial intelligence evolves, we must remember that its power lies not in replacing human intelligence, but in augmenting it.
While the use of AI can offer many advantages to student learning, it is only a tool.
This powerful tool can support learning outcomes, objectives, and instructional strategies, but it can't replace them.
It can generate endless information, but it can't "generate" our characteristics, virtues, and ultimately, the kind of people we are.
To encourage a Human-AI-Human approach, teachers must first be willing to learn about it. This is the first step to we enabling and empowering students to use AI responsibly.
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