As we look towards the future, the integration of generative AI in education promises to revolutionize the teaching profession. By automating and enhancing various aspects of a teacher’s work week, generative AI will allow educators to focus more on personalized and relational instruction, ultimately benefiting student learning and development. Here’s a glimpse into how generative AI will reshape the work week of a teacher.

One of the most time-consuming tasks for teachers is lesson planning. Generative AI can significantly reduce this burden by creating comprehensive lesson plans tailored to specific learning objectives and student needs. Generative AI can analyze curriculum standards, student performance data, and educational resources to generate engaging and effective lesson plans. This means teachers can spend less time on preparation and more time on refining and personalizing these plans to suit their unique classroom needs.  When Mitch, Ryan and I presented on Generative AI we discussed tools such as MagicSchool that is wonderful resource.  There are many other tools that can be accessed.

Grading and providing feedback are essential yet labor-intensive aspects of teaching. Generative AI can streamline this process for example I was working with students on how to create a setting for a story.  We were using Padlet and Curipod.  The Padlet was used to help student mind map the story.  Curipod was wonderful for I had students first draw a picture pertaining to the setting in their story.  Then I had students write out the details of the setting.  Curipod was able to provide feedback to them.  When I went through the feedback it was very useful and was great constructive feedback for students.  That generative AI detailed feedback on student work, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement for me is a game changer.. This allows teachers to view comments from a dashboard and then focus on the students that need more guidance.  As a result, teachers can dedicate more time to one-on-one interactions with students, that need more intensive follow up.

Administrative duties, such as attendance tracking, scheduling, communication to parents and students and reporting, often take up a significant portion of a teacher’s time. Generative AI can automate these tasks, ensuring they are completed efficiently and accurately. I have used CANVA Whiteboard to show teachers how get students input and then efficiently develop an email from their input on what they learned.  In a fraction of the time teachers can provide accurate and timely updates to parents.

As mentioned above, generative AI can analyze student data to identify learning patterns, strengths, and areas where students may need additional support. Teachers can use these insights to tailor their teaching strategies, ensuring that each student receives the attention and resources they need to succeed. Mastery of learning from Bloom’s Two Sigma Problem comes to mind.  This personalized approach can foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment, where every student can thrive instead of surviving.  Just like what Benjamin Bloom has stated the importance of lowering the level of perseverance a student needs on a day-to-day basis.  What is crucial is to replace the of perseverance with increased encouragement for their teacher.

The human connection in education is irreplaceable. With generative AI taking care of many of the logistical and repetitive tasks, teachers can invest more in building strong relationships with their students. They can spend more time mentoring, counseling, and supporting students’ emotional and social development.  Especially since the pandemic we have seen students struggle at the same time they became more connected in the digital world.  It shows that students need that relationship with their teacher.  It is more important now then ever before.

 

Generative AI holds the potential to transform the teaching profession by alleviating the workload by the above points I have made.  teachers can then channel their energy into more relational and personalized instruction (Bloom), ultimately enriching the educational experience for students in a collaborative environment.  We must always be vigilant in addressing drawbacks from generative AI.  Technology will always have positive and negative aspects.  Based on what we discussed in this blog I believe that the future of teaching looks brighter, with generative AI serving as a powerful ally in the quest to provide high-quality education for all.