By Kiara Amaya

In an era dominated by technology, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into classrooms presents us with the opportunity to revolutionize education. As teachers strive to prepare students for the world beyond classroom walls, which is using technology more than ever, AI offers a multitude of benefits that can enhance learning outcomes and equip students with the skills they need to succeed in society.

By integrating AI’s capabilities into classrooms, schools can personalize learning, nurture critical thinking, and foster skills needed for the technological workforce.

A compelling argument for integrating AI into classroom instruction is its ability to tailor education to each individual student and the needs that they present. Traditional classrooms often struggle to accommodate the individualized needs of the diverse populations of students in classrooms. AI learning platforms can analyze students’ performance data and adapt the content that students receive accordingly. Thus, AI can help teachers provide targeted instruction.
For example, Squirrel AI is an emerging adaptive learning platform that provides students with personalized learning plans and one-on-one tutoring. While these courses are meant to be supplementary to traditional education, teachers could use elements of these for more individualized instruction.

According to the Harvard Business Review, this could increase students’ motivation and therefore their engagement with their education.

AI-based learning systems would also be able to gather data for teachers about their students’ abilities, progress, and learning styles, and provide ideas for how to tailor their teachings to specific students’ needs. In some cases, students may experience difficulty learning, and in others, some students may not be receiving enough of an intellectual challenge. In these cases, AI can offer extra materials or slower-paced information to help students’ understanding. However, for this type of learning system to work properly, a large amount of data would need to be gathered in order to train it.

Querium has developed STEM courses that examine students’ responses as well as their time in a lesson to gain analytics into student performance. AI like this could be beneficial for teacher planning.

According to the Harvard Business Review, this data would need to be used in an ethical manner, and students would have to be informed about the ways in which their personal data may be used and shared by AI algorithms.

Incorporating AI tools in the classroom can also captivate students’ attention with the ability to make learning more engaging. For example, using virtual reality headsets could be an engaging way to transport students to historical events, distant planets, stories, etc. Thus, AI could help make abstract concepts more accessible and understandable.

Another AI feature that can be beneficial to students would be AI-enabled chat boxes which would allow students to receive immediate feedback on their work with valuable explanations.

According to the E-Learning Industry, these systems can assess student understanding, identify areas of difficulty, and offer targeted explanations, feedback, and practice exercises. They adapt to each student’s progress and adjust the learning material accordingly. Students are already using Chat GPT to do this. Why not build it into the curriculum?

As AI is integrated into education, the most fruitful results will come from combining the strengths of AI and human intelligence. Educators will continue to play a vital role in our society as no level of artificial intelligence can replace human warmth and encouragement.

AI learning systems would best serve teachers in subjects that have straightforward answers such as math and foreign languages.

According to the Harvard Business Review, AI systems could significantly enhance the learning process by providing greater precision and more accurate feedback, and would also allow students to take the time to repeat study exercises as many times as necessary.
Despite this, a teacher would still play a vital role in the classroom to explain complexity such as exceptions to rules.

As stated by Forbes magazine, it is important to note that AI is not meant to replace teachers but rather serves as a tool to assist them. AI is a tool and should be developed and used as such. For example, it can grade quizzes and tests which leaves more time for teachers to spend their time planning lessons and working with students on an individual level.

However, AI is still in the early stages of development. Although it has immense promise, more experimentation is needed in order for educational systems to determine how best AI can be integrated into the classroom.

The integration of AI into classroom learning holds immense potential. Although there is still work to be done, evidence points to personalized learning, enhanced engagement, and future-ready skills. As education systems explore the integration of AI, it is crucial to ensure thoughtful implementation, ethical considerations, and ongoing teacher training in order to maximize its benefits and create a more effective and equitable learning environment.