There are two ways to use AI in the classroom
One is much better than the other
I am walking toward the front of my classroom as I am concluding my lecture, and a wave of terror comes over me. I realize that my lecture is 15 minutes too short for today’s class. That is not a problem for my current class, but for period 4, it will be a disaster. That is the class where it is hard to keep them engaged when the lesson is planned perfectly, but if I go short, chaos will ensue.
Luckily, it is period 2, and I have the 15-minute nutrition break to figure something out and make copies before I face my Period 4 class. Even luckier, I remember two things. First, there was a YouTube video that is just the right length to fill the time in the class. Second, I can use Twee to create a video guide to ensure the students stay engaged.
I use the last five minutes of Period 2 to put the video in Twee, review and format the questions, and during nutrition, I run to the copy room and have the copies ready with time to spare. Period 4 goes perfectly, and I owe it all to the new AI tool I found called Twee.
This first way of using AI is out of desperation. You have a specific problem to solve, and it needs to be solved quickly. AI can help you do heavy lifting fast!
While this is a simple and effective way to use AI, it is certainly not the best way to use it.
A more thoughtful and strategic use of AI is certainly better.
A Strategic Use of AI
I am always looking for new and better teaching methods to get my curriculum across to students; the problem is that I don’t always have the time to read about, plan with, and implement these new teaching methods. Incorporating an effective but new teaching strategy takes time that most teachers simply don’t have.
I used the same AI tool that I used out of desperation, but instead, I used it strategically, and I developed one of the best lessons of the last couple of years.
I teach AP Art History, and one art movement I teach is Mannerism. It is an important movement that lies between the High Renaissance and the Baroque movements, which produced some of the most beautiful works of art in Western history.
The Entombment of Christ by Jacobo Portomo is interesting but not remarkable when compared to those other movements, yet I need to teach it.
Here is where I put Twee and ChatGPT to use strategically.
Just like I had used Twee to create discussion questions for a video out of desperation, I used it this time with a deeper purpose in mind. I wanted the students to contrast the Mannerist style with the High Renaissance style to understand why the historical changes led to visible changes in the art.
I first used Twee to generate discussion questions about a Khan Academy video on the painting.
Next, I turned those questions into a video guide my students completed while watching. This is unremarkable, but it is a great use of AI to save me time.
Then, I put those questions into ChatGPT and asked it to generate a lesson plan using the TQE method. I had heard about this method on the Cult of Pedagogy podcast but never had the time to design a lesson using it.
In less than one minute, ChatGPT created a lesson plan to combine the questions from Twee to allow me to implement the TQE method in my class.
I spent the next 30 minutes reviewing the lesson plan and making tweaks to ensure it fit my class’s timeframe and my students’ learning level.
ChatGPT did not create the perfect lesson plan I could implement without any changes, but it created a lesson that included about 80% of what I wanted.
I was so enthusiastic about the lesson that I invited the assistant principal, who does my teacher reviews, to come to see it (when was the last time any teacher invited an AP to review them?).
She and I were blown away by the level of interaction and the depth of thought that the students demonstrated in that class period. The students learned the artwork at a much deeper level than I had ever been able to get them to achieve through lecturing on it.
With AI and 30 minutes on the weekend, I developed a teaching strategy that I can use repeatedly.
I typically can only do this during the summer when I have tons of free time and the space to think creatively and strategically, but AI allowed me to do it in one weekend.
That investment of 30 minutes will pay dividends for years to come, and it was made possible through two simple AI tools.
Final Thoughts
I am not a techno genius at the cutting edge of AI use in the classroom. I am just someone who is willing to use AI, sometimes out of desperation and sometimes with forethought and planning.
The only thing that I have that many teachers do not have is a willingness to try new technology and the courage to try something new and live with the consequences if it is not perfect.
If it does not work, I can reteach the material the next day using my traditional methods.
But if I leverage AI to try something new and it works, I have a teaching strategy that I can use repeatedly.
Don’t we want teachers with this kind of growth mindset?
Isn’t this the kind of mindset that we want to model for our students?
Is this the mindset that will be essential for the future of knowledge work?
You don’t need to be a technical genius or a superhero teacher. You simply need to be willing to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone and try something new.
Are you willing to do that?
If so, get started.
Today!
PS — Here is the step-by-step process for how I used Twee and ChatGPT to create this lesson plan.
