Equity Access & The Teachers' Role

Reflection Topic: Your definition of "Equity Access" and "Teachers' Role" in Developed Nations

Equity and Access: With access to resources and technology varying greatly within developed countries, how can AI in education be implemented to ensure equal access and opportunities for all students, regardless of socioeconomic background or location?

As it was discussed in our readings this week in Intelligence for Learning, one thing that AI certainly has the capacity for is developing content quickly. The example of the company using Wildfire to create 138 learning modules in six weeks is a great example of how content development can be rapidly sped up to meet demand. This example means that content can be synthesized, translated, or created at a lower cost and, given the example in our text, can be done, most importantly, effectively. With adherence to sound pedagogical principles and an ability to strip extraneous and distracting information, learning can happen more effectively and quickly. Outside of creating content, artificial intelligence can offer learners personalized/adaptive learning experiences that meet the needs of the learner where they are in the trajectory to comprehension. With cost and time being a familiar nemesis of equitable access to education, appropriate use of artificial intelligence stands to be the bridge for so many without access.

Teacher Roles and Impact: As AI tools take on tasks like grading and personalized learning, what will the future role of teachers look like? How can AI empower and support teachers rather than replace them?

I have a hope that, as Pressey said, “Lift from [the teacher's] shoulders as much as possible of this burden and make her [sic] free for those inspirational and thought-stimulating activities which are, presumably, the real function of the teacher.” Pressey, S.L. (1926) The aid of artificial intelligence in the classroom means teachers will have more time to adhere to best pedagogical practices centered around cognitive psychology. When we can take certain data-finding burdens off teachers' shoulders and supply them with rich, meaningful data- teachers can focus less on task-driven work and more on responding to students’ needs at the human level.  

References

Clark, D. (2020). Artificial intelligence for learning: How to Use AI to Support Employee Development. Kogan Page.

Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2023). Part Two The How: Promises and Implications of AI for Teaching and Learning. In Artificial intelligence in education (pp. 621–653). https://doi.org/10.58863/20.500.12424/4276068