The introduction of Artificial Intelligence into society has made a tremendous impact. Students and teachers alike within school walls are some of the most affected, especially in the last few years. AI has been made widely free and available to anyone who wants to get their hands on it through chatbots and other forms of generators. Many students and teachers are taking advantage of the simplification that it brings to everyday tasks. AI has become ingrained in our society and will not be going away anytime soon.
An immediate impact that AI has brought into school systems around the world is the personalization of learning. Some schools are using AI to make personalized learning plans for struggling students to focus on building up their strengths and using them to improve their weaknesses. AI tracks a student’s patterns and is able to develop a learning plan that will likely be the most beneficial to them.
According to writers at the Sekolah, which has immensely lessened the number of failing students. While it is not helping the best get better, it is assisting students struggling to get by.
Many of the formerly struggling students who were put into an AI assistance program viewed it as a positive factor that helped their schooling lives without adding the immense extra stress they may have received as a below average student. The use of AI learning adaptors has been a positive in the world that has proved a true benefit.
While helping students is a huge accomplishment, helping teachers is arguably bigger. The tools it provides are rarely ending. From grading assistants to lesson planning, there is not much AI can not do. Giving teachers that little bit of relief from grading can truly have a lot of positive impact on them and their ability to connect with students in the classroom.
Elad Gil of the McKinsey and Company newsletter states that, “AI shouldn’t test the value of having a real teacher in the room but should only simplify the nagging hours teachers spend grading and lesson planning.” Those hours could lead to lots of opportunities for teacher student interactions.
Teachers are truly needed figures in classrooms that could never be replaced by an AI. Being closer to teachers has a significant impact on their ability to feel comfortable in a classroom. That comfort intern leads to an easier time comprehending information. AI should only be viewed as a tool to help teachers, not replace them in classrooms.
A deeper look truly shows how the connection between teacher and student can be broken apart by truly losing that welcoming feeling. Not having that impacts a student’s brain.
A truly interesting stat shared by Alyson Klein of the Education Week News Report states, “Eighty five percent of teachers and 86 percent of students use AI every day.” All the use of AI is lessening the meaning of an in depth teacher explanation, making it easier to just use AI.
That effect is deeply felt by students. Many who already struggle connecting with friends lose the small connection that they can get with a teacher, which is what keeps some students going each day. Losing that could be detrimental to the mental state of students overall.
Another negative for students is the overreliance on AI. Overusing it has shown a developmental loss in key aspects of the brain. Critical thinking and toughing things out through in depth thinking are being lost by the availability of a chatbot to get you the answer instantly.
According to an actual AI site, Typecast AI, “When AI systems provide instant answers and solutions, students lose the opportunity to struggle through problems.” The impact that could have on the future is immense, with children lacking the ability to handle stress.
Long term mental capabilities are being thrown away in front of our eyes. Children who do use AI consistently are going to have a job that requires some mental pressure and lacking that could ruin the workforce for the future. While it may be difficult for individuals to regain those capabilities in the future, it is still too soon to tell.
With proper planning and responsible oversight, AI can become a helpful tool in education rather than a diminishing force. Schools should invest in teacher training and guidelines for students to promote transparency in the entry of AI into schools and learning. As long as it becomes more focused as a helpful tool and less as an easy outlet for students to rely on, it will be an overall positive. The goal should not be resisting AI; it should be focusing on integrating it into the world.
