AI: Teachers

Note: This area is developing very quickly, and so new tools pop-up quickly. Some of these are very new, and although they are currently accessible for free, caution against becoming reliant on them. In all cases, check outputs carefully before sharing with students, to ensure curriculum alignment and prevent errors or misconceptions. Do not upload student personal data into any of these systems. 

AI Tools & Resources workshop by Keri-Lee Beasley & Jaye Shaer

Keri-Lee and Jaye shared these resources at their workshop at #ACAMISTech 2023. If your team would like a workshop or support with using AI tools in teaching and learning, please reach out to your EdTech & Library team. 

Some quick ways to lean-in to AI use in the classroom:

• Create quick model answers and evaluate them against your assessment rubric. In MYP schools, they are (currently) not likely to reach the top bands, so students could discuss where the response is strong, and how to make it better.
• Create quick quizzes and markschemes, for content-based formative assessment.
• Evaluate bias in responses, or re-write passages to remove bias. 
• Discuss ethics, integrity and reliability in the use of AI tools.
• Adapt Thinking Routines to work with content generated by AI tools (eBook of suggestions by Stephen here).
• Look for, evaluate and suggest replacements for incorrect information in responses.
• Look for reliable sources to support claims made in the response. 
• Quickly create bilingual vocab lists and definitions to support multilingual learners. 
• Try different prompts around a topic, to learn how prompting generates different types of response.
• Use AI tools for students to check their own work, for immediate feedback.
• Use prompts to generate writing ideas, topic summaries or opportunities for quick differentiation. 
• Summarize links or news articles by pasting the link into the prompt. 
• Use PerplexityAI for search (instead of random Googling) to get quick summaries and find some starter references. Evaluate the quality of the sources provided. Switch between summary and detailed responses. 
• Use Elicit for quickly accessing academic research summaries and articles. 
• Generate personalised learning courses or pathways for students using TutorAI, including text, ask follow-up questions, quizzes and more. 

Image generated in Midjourney. 

The underlying principles of 'promptcraft' are the same for most AI tools. Here are some resources that can help you get good results from AI text and learning tools. You might try it out in Poe.com, ChatGPT (if you can access) or Education CoPilot FreeStyle. 

Avoiding the 'invisible middle' through interactive assignment creation

Schools should support, teach and "highlight the importance of academic integrity throughout both a student’s whole learning journey and within assessments." IB 2022. 

One of the biggest concerns about AI writing tools is that they can produce good-quality text quickly. For some, this generates the concern that students might use it to 'cheat' on assignments. The risks of this are higher when there is an 'invisible middle' between setting the assignment and getting the final product. At WAB, we have an approach that is student centred, inquiry-focused and involves a lot of conferencing and feedback, so teachers can see students' progress, giving feedback and iterating on work as they go. Students are taught about Academic Integrity. 

Here are some more suggestions for how to adapt to AI in assignments: 

• Time is a statement of our values. If a piece of work is important enough to be assessed, it is important enough to be given class time.
• Unpack assignments with students in class, including rubrics and some potential exemplars. AI can help with this, if you don't have past student work to use.
• Move off the screen in early drafting stages of idea generation, concept-mapping, organisation and thinking routines.
• Give choice in the response, to avoid receiving 30 copies of the same thing.
• Plan for checkpoints along the way, for feedback, discussion and drafting.
• Give conferencing time for peer-peer feedback and evaluation.
• Submit in class. Even if a student is not 'finished', there is a piece for assessment, and they can make improvements by an agreed time later. This also avoids zeroes or missing work.
• Consider a 'research methods' section in the assignment, next to the references, that has students identify the AI/tech tools they have used, and for what purposes. 

The 'Killer-App' for teaching and learning with integrity in an AI world: working with your teacher-librarians and EdTech team! 

"Academic integrity is a principle in education and a choice to act in a responsible way so others can trust us. It means conducting all aspects of your academic life in a responsible and ethical manner. The IB expects students to produce genuine and authentic pieces of work, that represent their own abilities." IB. 2022. 

Although there is no explicit reference to AI tools in IB documentation (yet), principles of academic integrity remain true. The IB has issued this statement on AI, and here is a short video response from Dr. Matt Glanville (Head of Assessment Principles & Practices), shared as part of FIS's AI Symposium. At WAB, we are updating our Academic Integrity Policy & Guidelines. Please visit the links below for the most recent guidance on Academic Integrity from the IB. 

AI Tools to support Academic Integrity

WAB's culture of great teaching, inquiry, conferencing, feedback and iteration on student learning means we are well-positioned to know our learners and to support Academic Integrity throughout the learning process. Students should know that some (imperfect) detection tools for AI are available.