What are We Talking About?
The focus of AI is often how students will use it to cheat by having it write papers for it. Students cheating by copying work will always be an obstacle. It’s easier than ever to if a student cheated. The reality is teachers use AI just as much if not more than students but minus the accountability.
No two students have identical abilities in a classroom; no matter the class. Someone can argue you can have two students nailing perfect scores time after time that only tells you don’t the extent of their ability. I’m partially focused at this time on the Middle School and Elementary school levels as that’s where I see it daily.
The Importance of Tailored Learning
The traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to education is becoming increasingly inadequate while becoming popular and necessary with larger classroom sizes. Tailored learning doesn’t have to be some bougie thing for private classrooms with fewer students. With AI, specific large learning models like ChatGPT tailoring lesson plans to meet their specific needs, interests and skill levels of each student will keep them engaged and improving their learning.
Traditionally, lesson plans are the same for every student, which can leave some students bored and others struggling to keep up. GPT models can change this by helping teachers create dynamic, customized lessons. For example, if some students excel in a subject, the AI can create more challenging questions or projects for them. At the same time, it can simplify concepts for students who need more help, ensuring everyone understands the material at their own pace.
These tailored lesson plans follow the student throughout their learning experience. Think of it like customizing a diet plan or workout routine—it’s much more effective when it’s designed just for you.
Let’s try an example.
As a parent of sixth graders as well as having conversations with some 7th and 8th grade parents they feel their students aren’t being challenged as well as some whose kids have a tough time keeping up there are some common education scenarios. One scenario, is where a teacher assigns a novel for the class to read. This might involve reading the book aloud, so everyone has an opportunity to hear it and discuss it. This takes many days to complete not including discussing key themes and perhaps writing a uniform essay. This approach can fail to engage all students effectively, especially in inclusive classrooms with diverse learning needs, but it also wastes time.
So, let’s engage an AI like GPT, the educator can transform this single activity into multiple tailored assignments and assign the reading versus reading it aloud.
- For advanced readers, the AI can generate analytical questions and prompts for essays that challenge these students to explore complex themes or alternative perspectives in the novel. For example, they might be tasked with writing a critique of the author’s storytelling from a particular philosophical viewpoint.
- For Students Who Need More Support, the AI can simplify the text and provide summaries or create interactive, gamified quizzes that reinforce comprehension and basic plot understanding. These students could work on projects that allow them to illustrate key scenes, focusing on understanding narrative structure in a visual format.
- For Auditory Learners, instead of reading the text, the AI can help create an audio version of the novel, and then pose discussion questions based on audio clips. Using AI to discuss the book as you go along.
- Collaborative learning is still possible, the AI can design group activities encouraging collaboration among students with mixed abilities. For instance, mixed groups might create a storyboard for a film adaptation, all students contribute based on their strengths.
- Individual students could be allowed to choose an aspect of the novel that interests them most, and the AI can help design a personalized project or research paper around that aspect.
By integrating AI into lesson planning, educators can efficiently create a range of learning opportunities that cater to the unique needs of every student. This not only fosters a more inclusive and engaging learning environment, it gets them engaged by having them think critically more often.
Onto Part Two where we discuss How to Create Private GPTs for your Class and Individuals streamlining the process.
Christopher lives in Vermont with his wife, twin boys, border collie and corgi. He has owned a film production company, sold slot machines, and worked for Tony Robbins. He writes in his magical tiny house and sometimes writes in his blog at chrisrodgers.blog
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