AI’s Gentle Nudge Toward Progressive Education

We can use AI toward individual growth and cooperation strategies, instead of for ranking and competition.

Photo credit: iStock

By Daniel Gauss

For too long, K-12 education has clung to a narrow conception of what assessment means. Students are often evaluated through standardized tests, multiple-choice tests, five-paragraph essays, research papers, book reports…because these methods have been traditionally used and give the teacher numbers to put into a gradebook that often differentiate and rank students.

Enter AI. Instead of reflecting on the limits of their own assessments, many schools are investing in detection tools, blocking websites, and trying to police student behavior, when there are some more meaningful and pertinent questions they should be asking.

Can AI help me to individualize student learning strategies and better assess their learning achievements? What kind of learning experiences can’t be faked or outsourced to AI? How can we foster creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking through creative assessments? Can I challenge my students to engage the outside world with their learning projects?

I accepted an invitation to teach In Shenzhen, China and became a fifth-grade teacher for a…