Education in transition: How AI is changing teaching

DW (English)

AI tools are increasingly being used in schools. But does this make learning easier? Are young people being trained for the jobs of tomorrow? Or are they losing their ability to think critically and creatively?

Transcript

00:00Artificial intelligence is changing the way we learn and it's doing so faster

00:04than schools and universities can react. There are big promises. Learning could

00:09become easier, fairer and more accessible. But there are also concerns. Unchecked,

00:15creativity and critical thinking could suffer. So the big question is how can we

00:20use AI to help us learn?

00:24Every day, millions of people around the world use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.

00:32The models answer questions, write texts and even help with coding. In the world of education,

00:38some see them as a total game changer, while others fear the end of human intelligence itself.

00:45Hani Farid, a professor at Berkeley and a leading researcher on AI deepfakes,

00:49doesn't believe in the extremes. What are the two extremes? You ban it. You're not allowed to use

00:56this. First of all, you won't be able to ban it, so it doesn't work, but that's silly. Or do whatever

01:00you want, I don't care. Neither of those work. So we've got to find, like everything else, moderation,

01:06right? How do we use it responsibly? And it's very different. When I teach an intro course,

01:10I have different rules than when I teach my high level graduate course. Completely different rules

01:14because by the time they come to my graduate level course, they know everything or they should.

01:18So I give them more leeway there. But if you're in an intro course, no, you got to do this on your

01:23own. You got to use this thing. This thing still has to develop. Learning how to learn. That's what

01:28schools are about. In Estonia, AI is now officially part of that process. The idea is to help students

01:35boost their creativity and critical thinking and free up teachers by cutting out admin tasks. Recently,

01:41all 10th and 11th graders were given access to ChatGPT Edu, a version specifically designed for education.

01:48We visited a high school in Tallinn to see it in action.

01:52It's time for German class at Mustame State Gymnasium in Tallinn.

02:01Write three sentences about your summer without ChatGPT. Then ask the AI to correct them.

02:12High school German lessons supported by AI. The Edu version of ChatGPT that is programmed

02:18specifically for education. It offers school-friendly features like personalized tutoring.

02:24But AI is nothing new for the students here.

02:27I am using ChatGPT, for example, to make the tasks easier. If, for example, maths,

02:39I don't know how to solve it, then I will ask ChatGPT, can you explain it to me? Or if it's still

02:46too hard, I will ask, can you explain it to me in a high schooler level?

02:50Estonia is leading the way in AI-powered education,

02:54and the first country to introduce it nationwide.

02:58One in four Estonians actively use ChatGPT already. Officials believe,

03:03it will prepare younger generations for the jobs of the future.

03:08German teacher Carmen Kiesel sees the potential for AI learning, but also the limits.

03:15In her language class, communication is key.

03:17And that's where, for her, AI often falls short. AI-based tasks must be carefully designed, she says.

03:25If you just let a student search for an answer to a question, AI will simply provide it.

03:38Tasks must be thoughtfully prepared so that AI supports learning instead of replacing it.

03:44That means more prep work for the teacher. And if you think that AI itself provides great teaching methods,

03:51it doesn't. The teacher has to think carefully about how to structure the lessons so that AI actually brings added value.

04:00Many teachers still lack the knowledge to use AI effectively in the classroom,

04:05says educational technologist Emma Lore Sinitam. For now, most use it to plan lessons rather than teach them.

04:12Many of the teachers in our house have said, like, I have no idea what to do for the classroom.

04:20They go to ChatGPT, ask for a lesson plan, they get something from there,

04:25then they know how to start building up their lesson. In that way, it really helps.

04:29But AI can do more than just prep work. It can answer basic questions,

04:34freeing up time for deeper discussion in class.

04:36In the classroom, of course, yeah, maybe the teacher is a quicker way to get your answers,

04:43but they need to learn how to teach themselves and be responsible for their studies.

04:52We have so much knowledge, students need to know how to find it.

04:57With AI in schools, digital literacy is more essential than ever.

05:01Students need to know how to fact-check AI responses and protect their personal data.

05:08Last week, we were told, yeah, please don't put valuable information there,

05:14but only like a few of us heard it, so like maybe 30, 50 people, not the entire school.

05:22So I think that's something that should be more discussed about.

05:26According to OpenAI, chats and uploaded content in ChatGPT Edu are not used to train their models.

05:34Everything is encrypted, a major difference from the free version.

05:42In India, AI and computational thinking will be taught as early as the third grade,

05:48starting in the new school year. This makes India one of the first countries to integrate AI into primary

05:54schools. But it's not just the children who have to keep up with AI. The ambitious plan encompasses

06:00some 10 million teachers and 250 million students, all gearing up for the digital economy.

06:06One initial test involves AI software designed to better compare student performance.

06:14In this classroom, the children are learning to identify shapes and patterns.

06:19Their work is not graded as usual. Instead, the teacher takes a photo and uploads it to an AI-powered app.

06:28I got a brief overview of how the children have performed that activity,

06:34whether they have performed it properly or not, what level is that child into,

06:39whether he is a proficient child or a beginner child or a progressing child.

06:43The app also suggests suitable activities and teaching strategies for each child based on

06:50their individual learning level. This AI tool is designed to personalize learning in classrooms

06:56where one teacher is responsible for many children. The commercial platform Chrysalis is already being

07:02used up to 8th grade in thousands of Indian schools.

07:05So if we have technology also, which is also helping us, giving a lot of

07:12areas of improvement suggestions and things like that, for a child to develop, for a teacher also

07:17when she is catering to such a big audience, for her also it becomes difficult to know each and

07:22every child that closely. So that is where the AI comes in and it personalizes the learning for our kids.

07:30For the students of today, using AI tools will be as natural as using a calculator.

07:38It has opened a world of information for me in a way like it's like interacting with a lot of people

07:43who have gained a lot of knowledge since years and I just feel like talking to them all the time

07:51so that I also gain the same knowledge.

07:52For computer scientist Anupa Gupta, AI is a game changer for education but should be used with caution.

08:03As humans we have a natural tendency sometimes to follow a shortest path. Now if as a student I start

08:11adopting a shortest path and say that I have to do this assignment and let me just look at the solution and

08:17ask the solution from a LLM tool or an AI tool and then incorporate it in my solution so that means my

08:25inherent skill that I should build up as part of my curriculum or my training of critical thinking

08:33is actually being hampered.

08:36But Gupta remains optimistic nonetheless. With proper training the risks can be managed.

08:42At Sapphire School teachers are trained regularly on integrating AI into their teaching while also

08:48guiding students to use it responsibly.

08:54One thing's for sure. AI learning tools are here to stay and if they aren't integrated officially

09:00students will just use them in secret. In the UK, AI-related cheating cases have tripled in just one year.

09:08In the US too, universities are seeing a major rise in unauthorized AI use as they struggle to find the right response.

09:17Stress and time pressure make AI a tempting shortcut for students,

09:21especially when it seems like everyone else is using it to get better grades.

09:29But the quality of work often declines, says Rebecca Winthrop. She's a leading expert on the use of AI in higher education.

09:38Before ChatGPT came out, the papers students gave to us were much stronger. Students had many,

09:48many different ideas, unique ideas. And then after ChatGPT came out, the ideas were sort of all clustered around.

09:58We're less diverse.

09:59A recent study of over 1,000 students in the US showed that nearly half use AI in a way that violates

10:07university rules. And many don't even see it as a problem. AI makes plagiarism and cheating easier,

10:14which means educators have to invest valuable time to verify sources.

10:19Because this is not the point of education. Professors don't want to be detectives.

10:24students aren't criminals. It takes away the trusting relationship between teachers and learners.

10:33But educators also need support with AI integration. To reduce the influence of AI tools,

10:39some instructors are shifting towards in-class exams, group work and presentations,

10:44practical projects that AI cannot easily replicate.

10:47Universities are about critical thinking, not finding a shortcut to a degree. In the workforce,

10:55it quickly becomes clear who actually understands the material. But that doesn't mean AI tools

11:00are taboo. If used correctly, they can be incredibly helpful for learning.

11:05I had a student in my office right here the other day showing me what she does with ChatGPT.

11:11So I have what's called a flipped classroom. They watch my videos on their own time and they come

11:16to class and we do discussion and exercises and Q&A questions and answers. And so what she does is,

11:22while she's watching my video, she's asking ChatGPT questions. She's saying,

11:26Hani said this. What does that mean? Give me an example of that. Test me on this. Oh, I don't

11:31understand what that means. It's amazing. She has like a private tutor and just every single video

11:38for the entire semester. It's incredible. If you ask me, I don't think AI will be all that different

11:45to the technologies that came before it. If used correctly and in the right hands, it can make life

11:51easier. But true innovation still requires human inspiration, something algorithms can't really

11:58provide. But what do you think? Let us know. That's all from me this week. See you next time on Shift.

12:28You

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended