Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as A.I., continues to grow in popularity in today’s society, especially among students. As a result, teachers at Granada are starting to have differing reactions to it.
Mrs. Hobbs, a teacher at Granada who teaches various ROP business classes, believes AI is already becoming a necessary part of education.
“I’m trying to incorporate as much as I can so that my students are ready for the real world where it’s used all the time,” Hobbs said. “They’re going to be expected to be very productive, and if they’re not comfortable using it as a tool, it’s going to put them at a disadvantage.”
Hobbs also sees A.I. as a way to support students who struggle academically.
“I think it really levels the playing field,” said Hobbs. “Some students struggle academically, so it brings them up and allows them to be just as competitive with everyone else because they have a tool that can enhance their learning and help them with classwork.”
When it comes to teaching students how to properly use A.I., Hobbs also believes the learning still comes from the process.
“Even if you are looking up information or making things for you, you’re still learning the process of doing it,” said Hobbs. “You’re still thinking about the work that’s been generated for you. You have to look through it and make sure it makes sense.”
She also noted that students tend to be more engaged when using A.I. “I think that students are actually learning more by using A.I. because they’re interested in it,” Hobbs said.
In fact, Hobbs expressed concerns about student access to these tools. “I think that it’s a disservice that students here don’t have access to A.I.,” she said.
Looking toward the future, Hobbs believes A.I. will continue to completely change classrooms.
“I think it’s going to change a lot of things,” Hobbs said. “We’re going to have access to more tools with AI that we can bring into the classroom. It gives teachers the ability to get different types of lesson plans and bring in more fresh ideas. It makes information more available to teachers.”
However, social science teacher Mrs. Siefering has a different opinion on AI.
She believes that A.I.’s impact on classrooms is still undetermined.
“I think there’s a lot of unknowns. I think it is already changing the way many teachers teach… it just depends on how many use it, how many push back; so it’s sort of like a spectrum,” said Siefering.
Furthermore, she expresses concern about students relying too heavily on A.I.
“Students [are] relying on it to be the cognitive solution when I need your brain to be cognitive…thinking about the process, not just doing the work,” she said. “I read a study about cognitive decline in students a couple months ago… and teaching AP courses, my students are on the trajectory for four year colleges. I don’t want them to be cognitively disadvantaged by A.I.”
Finally, Siefering also raises ethical concerns. “I would never use AI to write a college letter of recommendation… when students come to me, they feel like it is authentically unique, and I don’t think A.I. is,” she said.
She added, “There’s huge concerns about its accuracy… right now, it’s not always 100% correct.”
As A.I. becomes more integrated into education, teachers like Mrs. Hobbs believe that schools should encourage students to use A.I. more responsibly by making sure students understand and learn from what the technology produces instead of blindly relying on it. However, teachers like Mrs. Siefering believe that A.I. should be used less to encourage authentic learning and thinking. Overall, teachers believe A.I. has both positive and negative effects in the classroom.
