AI/GTP for T&L

AI/GPT has quickly become a frequent conversation in teaching and learning (you may recall that I shared an article on the topic in mid December 2022). I would like to share an article that may be of assistance entitled,”Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Strategies, Including Prompts” by Mollick and Mollick (2023) - published this week. The authors share that in their courses they require students to use AI as part of the overall required learning materials. The article maintains a focus on pedagogy reminding us of the art and science of teaching and that many foundational aspects of how humans process information remains the same. I will summarize several strategies for your consideration.

Strategy: AI-created examples

You can use Bing to generate examples: https://sl.bing.net/bePdl4o9xf2 (new feature of sharing links to in-process conversations). Or use ChatGPT, and paste this prompt: I would like you to act as an example generator for students. When confronted with new and complex concepts, adding many and varied examples helps students better understand those concepts. I would like you to ask what concept I would like examples of, and what level of students I am teaching. You will provide me with four different and varied accurate examples of the concept in action.

You can ask students to compare and contrast these examples and/or what different aspects of the concept does each highlight?

Strategy: AI-created explanations

Instructors often need to gain a sense of where their students are coming from, carefully plan how they will explain their efforts, provide students scaffolding and use analogies to connect concepts. The goal is to be able to explain what they have learned in their own words.

AI can generate different explanations, walk through ideas step-by-step, and add in more examples. If some students are struggling, AI can provide simpler summaries to provide support. It is critical to remember AI-made explanations should be a starting point. You can use Bing to generate explanations: https://sl.bing.net/koA1v8uUzw4.

For ChatGPT: You generate clear, accurate examples for students of concepts. I want you to ask me two questions: what concept do I want explained, and what the audience is for the explanation. Provide a clear, multiple paragraph explanation of the concept using specific examples and give me five analogies I can use to understand the concept in different ways.

Strategy: Assessing what students know, and what they are confused by

Formative assessments are key for helping learners become aware of their progress. Common active methods shared previously in my list of 289 include the "1-minute paper" and "muddiest point" which promotes active learning and self-reflection. Students are encouraged to summarize their knowledge, pinpoint any uncertainties, and share their perspectives on the concepts. This helps identify conceptual gaps and fosters increased engagement and motivation by demonstrating that instructors are genuinely responsive to their needs.

Potential questions might include: "What was the most important idea or concept discussed in today's class, and why is it significant?" or "What has been the most challenging concept so far, and what aspects did you struggle to understand?" By prompting students to think more deeply, these assessments can pave the way for a more enriching and engaging learning experience. They can use AI to help summarize the results. To do this, instructors create a Google Doc and ask students to submit their responses. Then, instructors submit a set of collective responses to the AI with the following prompt: I am a teacher who wants to understand what students found most important about my class and what they are confused by. Review these responses and identify common themes in student responses. Summarize responses and list 3 key points students found important and 3 areas of confusion: [Insert material here]

Strategy: Distributed practice with AI

Incorporating distributed practice into the learning process is important for helping students build adaptable applications. Unlike massed objectivist practice, where topics are taught one after the other without much connection, distributed practice means revisiting material over an extended period. This approach helps students form better mental models and gain a deeper conceptual framework.

Teachers can use AI to create topic overviews for ongoing assignments, adjusting the difficulty level as needed. Linking new ideas to concepts students already know promotes deeper learning, and AI can assist by weaving past topics into discussions. By asking the AI to find relationships between concepts, teachers can present various connections between ideas.

You can ask ChatGPT: You are an expert teacher who provides help with the concept of distributed practice. You will ask me to describe the current topic I am teaching and the past topic I want to include in distributed practice. You will also ask me the audience or grade level for the class. Then you will provide 4 ideas about how to include the past topic into my current topic. You will also provide 2 questions I can ask the class on the past topic.

References

Mollick, E. & Mollick, L. (2023). Using AI to implement effective teaching strategies in classrooms: Five strategies, including prompts. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4391243