Schools and Assessments in a World of AI
How is the United Kingdom educational landscape grappling with AI almost two years post ChatGPT?
In my latest episode, I talk with David Meechan, senior lecturer in education at the University of Northampton. David has been leading critical conversations around AI at his institution and is in the process of publishing a book on leveraging AI for study skills.
David and I touch on a multitude of critical questions. Here’s my top takeaways from our conversation:
Education systems in the United States and United Kingdom are grappling with AI in similar fashion
As senior lecturer in the UK, David highlights how the education landscape is grappling with AI. It looks eerily similar to how we’re grappling with it in the states.
AI standardization in education comes with dangers too
While many schools and districts are craving guidance, does over dialing in this direction also create dangers? David highlights how standardization in education also brings dangers and stifles innovation. Is standardization in AI needed or dangerous?
Education in a world of AI should prioritize skills, not knowledge
David and I both agree that education has changed very little in the last 100 years. Given that AI can curate knowledge more prolifically than our system can teach students, we should use this as an opportunity to prioritize skill development in classrooms rather than knowledge retention.
AI creates new medium options for young learners
While elementary and middle school students do not have access to most AI tools and most experts agree foundational skills are critical here, access may become a primary concern if some students engage with AI tools outside of the classroom and some students don’t. A way forward could be in inviting students to use multimodal AI for assignments — could students generate an image, song, or video to complete an assignment and demonstrate the same high level thinking needed in writing?
In a world of AI, assessments need to change
While in the last few decades, classrooms have defaulted to essays and multiple choice exams as the medium for assessment, we have the potential to reimagine assessments for students. This will be critical given these mediums emphasize knowledge comprehension rather than skill mastery. How might images, video, and dialogue create new (or a return to ancient Greek oration) mediums to assess mastery?
Massive thank you to David Meechan for sharing his expertise.
Check out our full conversation here. Join the conversation at TheAIEducationConversation.com
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