Seven Effective Strategies
Below are some great entry points for leveraging AI effectively for teaching and learning.
Many teachers have already experimented with AI tools, notably ChatGPT. However, despite the rapid advances in AI, educators are generally hesitant to introduce AI into classrooms. A significant reason for this is that many teachers are unsure about how to best utilize AI for teaching purposes. This guide aims to assist teachers in identifying some effective entry points for using AI for student learning.
Framework: A “Target of Difficulty”
The framework of a “target of difficulty” is extremely helpful in understanding the proper role of generative AI in learning and teaching. A target of difficulty is the intersection of three conditions: First, teachers identify topics that they find challenging to teach, excluding topics they teach well. Second, teachers pinpoint topics that are crucial for students to understand. Third, teachers identify curriculum topics where AI might be of assistance. The intersection of these three conditions—something that’s challenging to teach, important to teach, and where AI can be beneficial—is a target of difficulty. These targets often serve as excellent starting points for teachers considering the use of technology to create opportunities for enhanced and impactful student learning.
A common challenge across grades and disciplines is teaching complex concepts in a way that students can truly understand, making it a fundamental target of difficulty. For example, history teachers often find it difficult to teach students abstract political and economic concepts such as state’s rights and socialism. Math, being abstract on many levels, poses challenges for teachers, especially when teaching topics ranging from fractions to the definition of a limit. It’s inherently difficult for students to understand abstract topics because they can’t visualize the connection between an abstract idea and specific scenarios. Understanding abstract concepts is crucial for students, as failure to do so may hinder their deeper understanding of the curriculum. This is particularly important in math and science, where concepts often build upon each other.
1.Example Generator
Firstly, AI excels as an example generator. Examples serve as a powerful tool for students to grasp complex concepts and processes, providing a concrete basis to contextualize and illuminate abstract ideas. Examples also lay the foundation for students to extend their knowledge to new situations. AI in general (and ChatGPT in particular) is capable of rapidly producing a wide range of examples across various subjects. AI can generate relevant and engaging examples that directly relate to the students’ experiences, interests, or current events, making abstract concepts more relatable and easier to understand.
For instance, ChatGPT can generate a diverse set of examples for teaching phonics and sight words to elementary school students, provide examples of literary devices and themes, and generate examples of scientific phenomena and advanced mathematical concepts. In all, educators can utilize ChatGPT to create an extensive and varied collection of examples and scenarios related to the subjects their students are learning.
2. Analogies Generator
Secondly, AI can provide analogies that can act as a bridge between familiar experiences and new information. These can help students understand difficult and abstract concepts. A well-known and effective analogy for understanding fractions is comparing them to slices of pizza. AI can supply many more analogies for use in your teaching. For example, in math, functions can be thought of as vending machines: you input something (insert money and select a product), and the machine outputs something in response (dispenses your chosen product). This analogy can help students understand how inputting different values into a function produces different results. Furthermore, explaining the concept of a computer network using a city’s transportation system as an analogy helps students visualize how data moves within networks similar to how people travel around a city.
3. Simplified Explanations
Thirdly, AI can help simplify complex ideas into simpler, more digestible terms without losing the essence of the concept. This approach is crucial for making learning accessible to students of different ages and comprehension levels. For example, a simplified explanation of the water cycle would use everyday language and relatable concepts (like the sun heating water and forming clouds). Complex terms like “evaporation,” “condensation,” and “precipitation” could be explained through actions (water turning into vapor, forming clouds, and falling as rain) that primary school students can easily visualize and understand. Furthermore, teachers can prompt ChatGPT or other generative AI to explain concepts for a specific grade level or age. This can further simplify complex language. In all, this approach demystifies complex topics, making them easier to grasp.
4. Manageable Steps
AI can deconstruct complex concepts into manageable steps. This is crucial for effective learning, particularly in subjects like math and science where concepts are built upon each other. For instance, by breaking down mitosis into its distinct phases, the process becomes more comprehensible for students to understand and remember. Each phase has specific, identifiable changes and events, which assist students in visualizing the dynamic process of cell division. This approach demystifies a complex biological process and aids in retention and understanding.
Similarly, each step of a long division problem can be broken down to make the process more understandable. Starting with dividing a small part of the dividend simplifies the task, making it less intimidating. The repetition of steps ensures that students practice the process until it becomes familiar, gradually building confidence and competence.
5. Visualizations
AI can design visualizations, a potent strategy for teaching complex ideas. Visual aids, such as diagrams, flowcharts, and illustrations, can make abstract concepts more concrete, simplify intricate processes, and highlight relationships between components in a visually intuitive manner. While ChatGPT cannot create visual content directly, it can suggest or describe visual aids that symbolize complex ideas, such as diagrams, flowcharts, or simple illustrations. Fortunately, there are many AI tools available that can help visualize concepts.
For example, Canva offers a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop features that make it easy to create diagrams, flowcharts, and illustrations. While not exclusively AI-driven, it includes AI elements that simplify design processes, such as auto-adjusting layouts and suggesting design elements. Adobe Spark provides easy-to-use templates for creating graphics, web pages, and short videos. Its features are designed for quick content creation, making it suitable for educators looking to develop visual content without extensive design experience. Overall, visual aids created with these tools can significantly enhance understanding, engagement, and retention of complex subjects for students.
6. Conversational Dialog
AI can engage students in a dialogue, allowing them to ask questions and explore concepts through conversation. This interactive approach encourages active learning and can help clarify difficult points in real-time. One of the most exciting recent developments has been OpenAI’s roll-out of a new voice feature in ChatGPT. ChatGPT can engage students in a verbal dialogue, allowing them to ask questions and explore concepts through conversation. In physics, while studying Newton’s laws of motion, students could use ChatGPT to explain real-world phenomena or experimental observations, receiving feedback on their understanding and application of these laws. This interactive approach encourages active learning and can help clarify difficult points in real-time.
Beyond ChatGPT, a variety of AI tools and platforms can facilitate interactive learning, each offering unique capabilities to enhance educational experiences across various subjects. Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine that answers factual queries directly by computing the answer from externally sourced data. Students can interact with Wolfram Alpha to solve complex math problems, conduct science experiments, and explore a wide range of subjects using its vast database and computational abilities. Quizlet is a tool for creating and studying flashcards and interactive learning games. AI algorithms suggest study modes and materials based on the learner’s performance, making studying more efficient and tailored to individual needs.
7. Multidisciplinary Connections
AI can assist in making multidisciplinary connections. This involves integrating knowledge and skills across various subjects to provide students with a more cohesive understanding of how concepts apply in the real world. AI tools, including and beyond ChatGPT, can significantly enhance this approach by offering diverse, interactive, and integrated learning experiences. AI can also help students make connections between, for instance, the math behind art patterns or the science in historical inventions. Wolfram Alpha excels in computational intelligence, answering questions, and performing analyses across mathematics, science, and beyond. It can demonstrate the mathematics behind economic models or the physics principles in biological systems, bridging subjects through computational essays and interactive models. Lastly, by using AI features in Google Sheets, students can learn about data analysis, statistics, and even predictive modeling in a hands-on way. This tool can connect mathematics, computer science, and subjects like geography or history through data visualization projects.
Conclusion
The ultimate goal of integrating AI into education goes beyond simplifying complex concepts; it lies in personalizing the learning journey for each student. AI's ability to tailor educational content to individual needs, preferences, and learning paces is exciting and transformative. Personalized education, facilitated by AI, can significantly improve engagement, comprehension, and retention of knowledge, As educators, leveraging AI to craft personalized learning experiences is our pathway to nurturing well-rounded, inquisitive, and competent individuals ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.