Image by Hotpot.ai
When Using AI is Just Another Classroom Tool
By Jill Maschio, Ph.D
September 22, 2024
All the hype in education is using artificial intelligence in the classroom. It’s said to enhance learning and make learning more enjoyable. That’s been believed with each new cool gadget, but student learning has yet to make gains we thought we’d see. As long as AI is just another cool tool in the classroom, it isn’t going to turn students into significant improvements, or any improvement for that matter. Let me explain why, but first I want to share a video of a school that is using AI in place of teachers.
I’m optimistic yet pessimistic that AI will benefit the classroom when machines replace traditional human teachers. AI seems to capture one’s attention, and it covers course material at a faster speed than a traditional teacher, but what about what is happening inside of the brain?
One:
When on the Internet for extended periods of time, the brain is constantly stimulated by the flashes from the monitor, the pages, and endless images. Over time, the brain becomes overstimulated, leading to exhaustion. When learning through the Internet, it is easy to get addicted to overstimulation, so when something needs our attention away from the computer, people may struggle to keep focus if the action is slow. The brain needs a “quick” fix of stimulation.
Two:
Then, there’s the dopamine effect. The flashes and interaction with the Internet and/or AI will stimulate dopamine production. This makes the user feel good and wants to pay attention and learn; however, the dopamine pathway in the brain is overused, leading to poorer attention and learning. Instead of learning, the individual may become easily frustrated and show less emotional regulation. Too much of something isn’t always a good thing.
Three:
John Sweller, in 1988, coined a term called “cognitive load”. While learning, the working brain processes, organizes, and makes sense of information. The brain can only hold so much information at a time, and some scientists believe that the number is 7, plus or minus 2. So, a maximum of 9 bits of information. While learning, the brain needs time to process information, and if information keeps coming at us without the time required for processing, the brain stops learning. That said, the students in the school may be experiencing cognitive overload. A traditional human teacher teaches at a slower pace, which may seem boring to students, but it may benefit their brain’s ability to process information.
Four:
Teach-to-Test is a teaching method where the teacher lectures, and then students are tested on the content. This method of teaching is criticized. Why? Because students tend to memorize information for a test and then forget it. This kind of learning is shallow learning. The students tend not to apply any deep thinking. Real learning may be lost unless students need to memorize concepts to pass in some disciplines. In the video above, the students may be only memorizing, which is perhaps why educational systems in the US are failing many students.
Five:
The video doesn’t fully explain what is occurring in the classroom, but one can assume that AI and the Internet has replaced the traditional teacher. If school systems are failing because of how teachers teach, and then the teacher is replaced by AI to do the same thing a human teacher does, then we haven’t fixed a broken system. Students will continue to be outperformed by students in other countries. We can’t simply replace human teachers with AI and expect learning to improve.
Conclusion:
Education has the opportunity to change how it teaching using AI. To do that, teachers must be aware that AI isn’t a fix to a broken system. Teachers must use AI in a fashion that the power of learning isn’t handed over to a non-human entity until those who program AI can make it better than teach-to-test method. We can create a real change in the educational system, but only if we are smarter than AI on how to teach and engage the learner.