AI and the future of teaching : my crystal ball
Ian Campbell , Teacher of Psychology
DIGITAL LEARNING
Artificial intelligence is set to change the world : medical diagnosis , politics , warfare , and helping me decide on a tasty recipe for tonight ’ s supper by taking a photo of my uninspiring fridge contents . Everything is soon to change , but what about education ? Surely only a human teacher bursting with expertise and passion can inspire , motivate and become a life changing role model to the young people in their care ? The spontaneous classroom debate , the potent reprimand , the life changing nudge towards a particular degree course and bright future , and all impacted by the wisdom and human insight that only a real teacher-student relationship can bring .
But hold on , isn ’ t this just misty-eyed nostalgia and a reluctance to accept that the world of teaching will soon be turned upside down by some very fancy computer code ?
Will teachers be replaced by mass produced bots with kindly voices and benign smiles , saying “ Great job Amelia , you ’ ve done so well this week I just know you are set for a top grade ”? The debate is not a binary yes / no choice . A teacher ’ s role is much more than the dynamic interface we have with our students . It involves preparing complex materials – customised for each class , exam preparation , marking , report writing , preparing for university . AI will have a different impact on each of the components traditionally ascribed to a good teacher .
I have been trying a few things out using ChatGPT4 :
“ You are an expert educator , so using the five IB essay criteria for psychology , mark this essay with detailed feedback and give me a summary for areas to improve ”.
Enter student essay . I was hoping the response would give me time to make a coffee but within just a few seconds staggering detail was staring back at me . The essay itself was from a L6 psychology student who had been impressing me ; it was one I had graded some weeks before and took me perhaps 25 minutes to mark .
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