Reluctantly Towards A.I

I am approaching this blog a bit differently than I typically would, which is normally research-forward and planned in advance. Instead, I thought it might be interesting to give a bit of a play-by-play with my first go-round with A.I. software. Full disclosure: I am wildly reluctant to use A.I. in any form for the myriad of reasons that are all over the news these days. It's terrible for the environment, it's stealing arts-based jobs from writers, animators, and more...I am going to make every attempt to open my mind to the potential uses that A.I. can hold in the classroom and see where we land!  Many colleagues are already using Gemini on a regular basis for text scaffolds and adaptations, so there has to be more here than meets the eye...

Part One: Lesson Plan Generation & Evaluation

1-2) Pro's, Con's and Improvements

    Do I have to eat my shoe now? Can the Tech Literacy & Engineering teacher on the other side of my classroom wall hear my astonishment? I'm about to get an "I told you so, Jepsen...", I know it!  All of that is to say that, somewhat to my chagrin, this lesson is thorough and pretty much on-point with what I was aiming for. Here is the gist: 

Prompt Used: a playwriting lesson based on the MA "Creating" standard 7-8.T.Cr.01, as well as ISTE 1.6b-d, must include visual components. 

The Pro's: the lesson is on target with MA standards; lesson expectations and most assessment components are appropriate for my students who are reading and writing at grade level, and scaffolds for those who are not there yet are easy to add; possibilities for partner work (combined writing/drawing) are abundant; the incorporation of a timeline and plot beats are two things that I did not prompt, but would absolutely have included (CREEPY); the integration of visual elements sandwiches nicely with technology components, which was unexpected; inclusion of filmmaking extension is great and allows for further inclusion of technology. 

The Con's: one of the assessment components calls for a 2-4 page script that encompasses a full timeline of a character's life story, which is a very tall order; much of the teaching relies on teacher modelling, rather than student exploration; the lesson is dense with many learning targets that need to be broken down further, necessitating more than one lesson. 

Adjustments: after the initial lesson, peer critiques should be inserted into each of the following classes; addition of a staged reading as a final step in the presentation process; addition of student-led character exploration is needed, perhaps not centered in writing but rooted in improvisation and geography; exit tickets for formative assessments are one-sided, should be reworded to include reflection and goal for the next class in order to instill accountability with timelines; definite timeline of full unit is needed. 

The lesson plan itself can be found HERE. 

3) Rigor? 

    I do think that this tool is an excellent springboard for planning. In terms of academic rigor, this lesson would be A LOT for my kids to tackle in one go. This likely has more to do with my own inexperience in telling the A.I. what to do, rather than with it creating something that is unreachable. For example, this lesson is written in the app as being feasible for one class period. My students, regardless of fluency levels, could not meet this expectation. If this were to be extended into a 4-5 class assignment that included multiple editing tactics and deep dives into character exploration to really flesh out the world of their stories, they would be able to access and meet the goals set therein. 

4) Once more, with feeling!  The lesson plan can be found by clicking HERE :) 

5) Reading Connections...yea or nay? 

    For the most part I do think that this lesson is reflective of the readings we have been working with in many ways, but there is one reading in particular that I think would demand that this lesson go deeper. In his article "Fostering Student Creativity," Mark Gura suggests that creativity is not only useful in the way that students interact with and learn from the world, it is integral. While this lesson certainly does address creative thinking and the generation of imagined material, it does not supply the needed prompts to help students guide their own exploration through the creation process. Instead of the teacher modelling how to build a character timeline, perhaps students could discuss or have a carousel brainstorm surrounding the elements that truly show a character to the audience. In conjunction with exploring existing pieces of art to uncover stories of creators, perhaps add in a studio day that allows students to explore the making of their own visual art, noting the stories and feelings that come up. I wholly agree with Gura's sentiments - formulaic ways of thinking will not guide students to find original solutions to everyday problems that they encounter. Giving students the tools for a "studio style" experience could truly open up the playground that Gura deems necessary for true creative learning. 

Part Two: Testing the Waters...

1) I tested out the tool that creates report card comments based on three simple prompts: Pronouns, Student Strength, and Opportunities for Growth. 

2) It is useful to a point. While the comments did pop out quickly, they were quite robotic in nature and would need to be edited so that they sound like they are written about middle school students that have a solid relationship with their teacher and classmates rather than robotic college professors who wear starched suits!  For example, this comment could become "They are a solid team player and leader, often helping their groups stay on track. They are supportive of their classmates and help to bring out the best in those they work with." "They consistently bring creativity to classroom projects, contributing original ideas and thoughtful approaches that raise the quality of group work. They are a reliable team member and often step into leadership roles, helping to organize peers, encourage participation, and keep collaborative tasks moving forward" could become "They are a solid team player and leader, often helping their groups stay on track. They are supportive of their classmates and help to bring out the best in those they work with."

3) This tool is still a bit too clunky for me to be able to integrate regularly. As much as I would love to write report card comments for all of my students, I simply teach too many of them (more than 200 per semester!) to be able to do so. I make a huge effort to get to know each student and family and try my best to form a personal connection through emails, postcards home, etc...these are things I am able to space out over time. I am also able to make sure that these notes stay relatively informal and that they serve to build that relationship...unfortunately this tool was not quite personal enough for my tastes!  

Part Three: Reflections

    As much as I hate to admit it, this was not only a useful experience, it was also a useful tool. As I said at the top of this entry, I have been loathe to try any type of A.I. that generates things that are connected to the arts.  Until just now I have successfully avoided it entirely, save for a voice changer or two on Soundtrap. Do lesson plans for drama class count? I think the answer is yes. And at the same time...this is something that I could use in the future, solo and with job-alike teams, to create some springboards for curriculum creation. I believe that using the formatting and ideas generated in tandem with material from our own selves would be a solid combination. Between writing things up and getting stuck for ideas, the time saved has the potential to be massive, which would allow us to fine tune and expand as needed. My reservations against using this generally revolve around the fact that I would rather my profession not become redundant. To me this feels no different than the automated self-checkouts at the grocery store that have been replacing human cashiers for years on end. I am reluctant to willingly take the humanity out of even more of the world, particularly my job, which is rooted in people and relationships. This ties directly into page 12 of Guidance and Considerations for Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma Schools, which suggests that A.I. should be used to help teachers (and students) to create richer experiences for their classes, not to replace them. 

References 

Gura, M. (2020b). Fostering Student Creativity Facing and embracing the next frontier in teaching and learning. EdTech .

Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools. (n.d.). https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/osde/documents/services/standards-learning/educational-technology/Guidance-and-Considerations-for-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Oklahoma-Schools.pdf

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