Today’s post continues a series in which educators share how they are—or are not—using artificial intelligence in their practice.

Saving Time

Donna L. Shrum is an educator, researcher, and freelance author in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

I shared my new AI romance with a former teaching partner as we drove to a conference. His face twisted as so many teachers’ do when they hear AI and immediately picture a student hunched over the computer, hacking into the newest version of “copy and paste.”

“Ethically,” he said, “I just don’t think I ever could use it. It doesn’t seem fair.”

I sighed. “Picture yourself when everyone is switching from the wooden plow to the steel. You say, ‘I just don’t think I can use this new tool that will save me hours of grunt work. It doesn’t seem fair.’”

My school system has totally blocked AI for student use, so we’re only dealing with cheating when they use it from home. I asked permission to unblock an AI tool to provide immediate writing feedback during workshop time. I first vetted the tool and ascertained students couldn’t use it to cheat. I was refused for a similar reason we’d refuse a student: “The reason why AI writing feedback is blocked is because we have encountered situations where student writing was not read by a teacher, and the AI was providing feedback that the teacher was not able to see. We value the teacher’s role in the feedback cycle so students can have discussions with the teacher about their writing and for the teacher to have an understanding of students’ writing needs in order to plan next steps in instruction.”

The brave new world of AI comes with so many negative connotations and preconceived ideas like those above that AI has become synonymous with cheating, whether by student or teacher. I was fortunate to have enthusiastic AI users in my professional learning network who pushed me to try it.

My go-to is Magic School. Just as I’ve learned to recognize student voice in writing, I quickly discerned the bland voice of AI. I tested its ability to create lesson plans, and each one was similar. AI does not have the ability to be creative. Each tool I tried showed me its limitations but also the potential to get rid of hours of grunt work.

I learned to use AI just before I was knocked out by emergency gallbladder surgery. The surgeon said to stay off work for two weeks; I stubbornly went back after a week. My utter mental and physical exhaustion soon showed me why I shouldn’t have. If not for AI, I’d never have made it.

AI can summarize text, adjust reading levels, create stories or nonfiction text from a prompt or information you feed it, and create discussion and multiple-choice questions. What it spews out in a matter of seconds is not a finished product to my standards, but a rough draft I finish crafting.

Particularly when I’m mentally exhausted, I can use this tool to create my starting point, not my finished product. Before, this part ate up time and energy. AI prepares the rough draft of an assignment so I can focus my energy on the real work of crafting and creating. Using my AI “plow” to break ground has increased the quality of my lessons because I no longer waste mental acuity cobbling together the rough draft.

As an example, I recently created an assignment for a colleague. I pasted several different chunks of information into “Academic Content” and asked Magic School to create a textbook page. I added state standard terms and other revisions to it, then pasted sections into “Text Dependent Questions” and asked for three multiple-choice questions. I did it in sections because I’ve found the question quality is better if I don’t paste the whole article at once. I then proofed, revised the questions, and was ready to print. The whole process from start to finish was about 15 minutes.

The levels of my classes range from honors to remedial. I can plug the same assignment into AI to adjust the reading level and translate it for English learners. I’ve always done that, but it took hours. Now it takes minutes.

AI in Science Class

Bonnie Nieves is an educator and consultant who specializes in the intersection of next generation science teaching, culturally responsive methods, and artificial intelligence to provide authentic learning experiences for every student:

As a high school science teacher, I have always been committed to providing my students with the tools and skills they need to engage with scientific research. However, the dense language and complex concepts found in peer-reviewed journals often present barriers for students. To overcome this challenge, I have integrated AI tools into my teaching practice, making research more accessible and fostering a deeper understanding of scientific research papers.

Peer-reviewed research articles are crucial for advancing scientific knowledge, but they can be daunting for high school students due to their complexity. The specialized language and advanced methodologies often leave students feeling overwhelmed, preventing them from engaging with the content.

To address this issue, I introduced PerplexityAI into my classroom. This AI-driven platform helps break down complex research articles, making them more approachable for students. By using AI as a learning aid, Perplexity has contributed to an inclusive learning environment where every student can confidently explore and understand advanced scientific content.

The Process of Using AI Tools

I began by introducing Perplexity to my students as a resource for accessing peer-reviewed research. This AI tool summarizes and simplifies complex content while maintaining the meaning of the article. By doing so, students can better comprehend the material and engage in meaningful discussions about their findings.

Guided Introduction: Initially, I use a hybrid approach, having students use Perplexity to “ask questions” to the peer-reviewed articles they found in Gale Databases. I provide students with guided prompts to use with Perplexity, helping them understand how to extract information from research articles. This method allows students to see how AI could assist in breaking down complicated information into manageable pieces.

Encouraging Independent Exploration: Once students become comfortable with the tool, I encourage them to generate their own prompts. This practice empowered them to take ownership of their learning, enabling them to tailor their research approach based on their interests and curiosities.

Promoting Critical Reflection: Students document their interactions with the AI tool, reflecting on how it influenced their understanding and approach to the research. This reflection process has proved helpful in developing their critical-thinking skills and encouraging them to evaluate the validity and reliability of the AI-generated information.

Cultivating Inquiry and Engagement

By integrating AI into my teaching, I hope to cultivate a culture of inquiry and engagement. Students have been encouraged to explore topics that pique their interest, leading to more meaningful and personalized learning experiences. This new routine has made it much easier to scaffold differentiated instruction while empowering students to engage with content that resonates with them personally.

AI tools do more than facilitate individual exploration—they can also enhance collaborative learning. Encouraging students to share their findings and interpretations in group discussions promotes diverse perspectives and deeper understanding. This collaborative approach mirrors the real-world scientific community, where researchers work together to tackle complex problems.

Assessing Progress and Growth

I found the need to adjust my assessment methods to evaluate both the process and the product of student learning. Students documented their research journey, including the prompts used and responses generated by PerplexityAI. This documentation served as a reflective tool, allowing them and me to analyze their approach and refine their strategies.

Regular reflection exercises and guided discussions helped build metacognitive awareness. In addition to content discussions, students participated in sessions where they shared strategies that worked, challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. Students began to notice that the balance of peer review of content and process mirrored scientific research in the real world.

Integrating AI research tools like Perplexity into the classroom has transformed how my students access and engage with peer-reviewed research. By removing barriers, AI empowers students to explore scientific articles with confidence and curiosity. Even with my high expectations, I was impressed with how it not only improved students’ understanding of scientific concepts but also equipped them with critical-thinking skills essential for success in the modern world.

Through this journey, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of AI in education and the profound impact it can have on student learning. By leveraging AI, we can create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Reducing Stress

Kayla Towner is a product manager and technology instructor for Utah Education Network (UEN) and a Hope Street Fellow in Salt Lake City. Follow her on Twitter @mrstowner9 or email her at kayla@uen.org:

I specialize in supporting adult educators, and one of my areas of focus is demonstrating how artificial intelligence can alleviate stress. Here are five ways I have used AI to reduce my stress, and these strategies can benefit other educators and students.

Emails

Educators and administrators often find themselves flooded with emails. The sheer volume of messages can be overwhelming, making it challenging to respond promptly. Striking the right balance between clear, professional communication and a personable tone can be tricky.

Thankfully, Generative AI platforms like Chat GPT, Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot can streamline this process. Here are some ways you can leverage these tools:

• Behavior-Notice Templates: Use AI to draft behavior-notice templates for informing parents about incidents. These templates can be customized and personalized while maintaining a professional tone.
• Multilingual Communication: If you need to communicate with parents who speak different languages, AI can accurately translate your messages into dozens of languages.
• Weekly Newsletters: Create engaging weekly newsletters for classroom updates. AI can help you generate content quickly. Therefore, you’re maintaining consistent and engaging content.

Imagine you want to create a welcome letter for 5th grade students and their families at the beginning of the school year. By providing context and setting boundaries, you can quickly draft a personalized letter using an AI platform. Let’s create a ‘Welcome Newsletter.’ Go to any AI platform and type in the following prompt criteria:

• Ask the tool to take on a persona: 5th grade elementary teacher.
• Provide an objective that tells the tools what to do or produce: Draft a welcome letter for 5th grade.
• Define the audience who will be using it: for families and 5th grade students.
• Include context that gives the tool background information: introduction that talks about how excited we are for the upcoming school year. We will be learning about the American Revolution, BizTown, multiplying fractions, earth movements, opinion writing, and more.
• Set boundaries that limit or constrain responses: The paragraph should be written in plain text using an informal tone so that 5th graders will understand it.

Remember to maintain professionalism and clarity in your communication. And as a side note, if you’re using a free AI version, avoid using real names of students or parents. Paid versions of Generative AI typically do not save conversations for model training, but always check the fine print.

Planning

Planning consumes a significant amount of time for teachers and administrators. However, they can streamline this process using AI generators to create engaging lesson plans. By inputting specific criteria—such as subject, learning objectives, engagement strategies, age-appropriateness, lesson duration, and pacing—into a generative AI platform, teachers can receive customized lesson plans.

• For example use this prompt: “Create a one-week lesson plan for 5th grade science that focuses on the human body and its major organ systems. Make sure the activities are engaging and age-appropriate and incorporate hands-on experiments where possible.”

See what kind of lesson plan it produces and how you make your lesson more streamlined, especially if you teach multiple grade levels or groups.

Accessibility/Differentiation

Artificial intelligence is transforming education by tailoring learning experiences to individual learning styles and needs. Adaptive-learning platforms use AI to adjust the curriculum based on student understanding, pacing, and mastery. These platforms provide personalized pathways, additional resources, and real-time feedback.

Instead of manually creating specialized prompts or quizzes, AI tools can “read” PDFs and generate differentiated questions. For instance, you can have AI read an article on westward expansion (for 5th graders) and create a quiz with 2nd-grade-level multiple-choice questions.

• Another example prompt: “Write a prompt about Minecraft for 7th graders. Make sure to follow this writing standard: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Ensure that the prompt is at a 5th grade level.”

Marketing/Creating

Today, creativity isn’t limited to master artists. AI-powered tools like Adobe Express, Canva Magic Studio, Microsoft Designer, and Google’s AI Test Kitchen enable anyone to explore their creative side. For instance, in Canva Magic Studio, you can create custom images. If your students are researching different countries and need to design a poster, they can use these tools to bring their project to life.

• Prompt example: “Create a poster of a young Korean girl traveling to Greece.”

See what kind of images can be created to bring this project to life.

Searching for Information

Today, search engines like Google or Bing have integrated generative AI into their platforms that will provide conversational answers based on up-to-date information found throughout the internet. These AI-powered ones provide real-time information and up-to-date answers.

• Go to Google or Bing and ask a question like “How would you use an addendum to a contract?” At the top of the search engine, you’ll find a heading that says ‘AI Overview’ with a short summary, links, and guidelines to follow.

See if the results are something that could support you. However, it’s essential to be aware that some of the information may carry biases or discrimination. As best practices, always verify the credibility of the resources you find, which reinforce human oversight and the importance of critical thinking.

Overall, when faced with something new, taking that initial step can feel daunting, but it is important we take that step. I encourage you to explore AI tools and resources to help alleviate your daily life stresses. Remember: ‘Work smarter, not harder.’

Note: AI tools assisted me in clarifying, organizing, and checking the grammar of this article.

Thanks to Donna, Bonnie, and Kayla for contributing their thoughts!

Today’s post answered this question:

What are specific ways you are using—or not using—artificial intelligence in your teaching?

Sarah Cooper, Adam Moler, and Meghan Hargrave shared their responses in Part One.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

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