Enhancing Education: AI as a Teacher Assistant

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a game-changer. When new technology emerges, I always try to find the ways that it can be useful in the classroom. Therefore, I became an early adopter of AI in my job as an educator. As an educator, I recently conducted an in-service at my high school, showing my fellow teachers on the revolutionary role of AI as a teaching assistant. Here is what I shared with my colleagues.

Automating Quizzes Aligned with Standards

Teaching is not just about disseminating information; it’s about ensuring students grasp and apply the knowledge. AI can be a valuable ally in this endeavor. During the in-service, I demonstrated how AI can generate quizzes tailored to educational standards or specific writings. By inputting relevant data, AI can create quizzes that not only assess students’ understanding but also align with curriculum objectives seamlessly. This dynamic approach allows educators to focus on personalized instruction, knowing that AI is handling the assessment side efficiently.

This usage also has the potential for students to perform better on assessments. I actively encourage my students to use AI in this manner. AI can’t take tests for students, but having AI ask questions in areas they are weak in will make students better. This is especially true in my Computer Science classes. A student is having a hard time with modulus? Ask AI to make a quiz on it in the computer language you are learning.

Transforming Scholarly Articles into Student-Friendly Content

The ability of AI to condense and simplify complex scholarly articles is a boon for educators aiming to make challenging content accessible. In the in-service, I showcased how AI can take lengthy academic texts and distill them into digestible information at a lower Lexile level. This not only aids in accommodating diverse learning needs but also ensures that students can comprehend and engage with intricate subject matter. The AI-driven summarization process retains the essence of the content while making it more student-friendly. In my African American studies class, this has allowed us to explore a lot of local history by taking long-form articles and condensing them.

Crafting Writing Style Examples

To shape adept writers, I expose students to diverse writing styles. AI, as a pivotal tool, generates examples illustrating the expected writing standards. I demonstrated how AI provides samples, offering tangible models for students to emulate. This not only saves teachers time but also deepens students’ understanding of effective writing nuances. Applied in my African American Studies class, students faced the challenge of writing a letter to an abolitionist newspaper editor. Their unfamiliarity with editors and newspapers complicates this task. When I show examples, the writing often proves too sophisticated. Given that letters were the primary means of mass communication in the 1800s, I typically ask AI to compose or rewrite one from that period in the style of a high schooler aiming for a good grade. Though it may require a few iterative prompts, this approach consistently proves successful. The inspiration for this method came from an article in Cult of Pedagogy.

Generating Questions from Video Transcripts for Nearpod

The integration of multimedia in teaching is undeniably powerful, but ensuring student engagement can be challenging. I addressed this during the in-service by showcasing how AI can extract transcripts from YouTube videos and generate questions at specific timestamps. These questions can then be seamlessly integrated into platforms like Nearpod, creating interactive and engaging lessons. This not only encourages active participation but also allows educators to gauge comprehension and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. Of course, watch the videos before you use them!!!!!

AI as a Teaching Assistant

As the educational landscape continues to evolve, leveraging AI as a teaching assistant can revolutionize the way we approach instruction. The service at my high school aimed to empower educators with the knowledge of how AI can enhance their teaching methods. By embracing these AI-driven tools, teachers can focus on what truly matters – fostering a love for learning and preparing students for the challenges of the future. Yes, there are a lot of issues with AI that need to be discussed and address. But it is not all gloom and doom. If you only look for the negative, you will only find the negative.

However, with AI as a teaching assistant, my workflow drastically improved. The feedback I’m receiving from teachers present says the same thing. Education often tends to look at each new thing with so much apprehension that we often forget to see how it can be a positive. By focusing on the negative, such as smart phones, we make the entire thing negative. We forgot to teach kids how to work with the technology. I don’t want to make that mistake again with AI.