Navigating AI in Education: Closing the Knowledge Gap
My 12-year-old twins can prompt ChatGPT with remarkable fluency. They’ve generated AI music, transformed family photos into wispy Van Gogh-style portraits, and built a chatbot that mimics their favorite anime characters. As their mother, I’d love to attribute this to their brilliance, but the reality is far more complex, rooted in circumstances of luck and privilege.
A Privileged Foundation
My children’s familiarity with AI stems from a fortunate blend of privilege. My husband and I hold graduate degrees and engage in careers requiring computer fluency. Their school district in Pennsylvania, Haverford, consistently ranks among the top in the state, benefiting from stable funding, high-quality teachers, and a robust IT department. This educational environment facilitates discussions on AI as early as the sixth grade.
The Disparity in Education
However, it’s a stark contrast to my experience teaching at Delaware County Community College for over a decade, where many students come from underperforming high schools. In my classrooms, I often encounter recent graduates who perceive AI as merely a contentious cheating tool. A returning adult learner once told me she had heard of AI but had no idea what it truly was. After a quick demonstration of ChatGPT, she sighed, realizing why her daughter was completing her homework so quickly.
A Growing Knowledge Gap
This knowledge gap is multi-faceted; it encompasses generational, socioeconomic, and institutional divides, widening daily. As first-year writing professors at community colleges, we must engage intentionally with this moment to avoid leaving our most vulnerable students behind.
A Call to Action
This realization sparked a call to action in me. I didn’t just dip my toes in; I cannon-balled into the deep end. Over the past six months, I’ve dedicated over 150 hours to becoming fluent across various large language models. This involved studying terminology, exploring the ethics and mechanics of generative tools, and tapping into the IT expertise within my family.
Innovative Approaches to AI Integration
In May, I secured a grant that allowed me to provide my fall Composition I students with ChatGPT subscriptions. Our classes will take place in a computer lab, allowing us to explore AI tools collaboratively. With OpenAI access, students will benefit from faster responses, voice-to-text options, custom learning tools, and Sora, OpenAI’s image and video generator — all aimed at deepening engagement with our readings.
Utilizing AI Detection Tools
Furthermore, I’ve integrated the AI-detection tool Pangram into my Composition II course this summer. This tool eliminates the need for me to act as Sherlock Holmes, scrutinizing writing for malfeasance. Pangram’s findings promote transparency for both students and instructors, and it adeptly identifies subtly humanized AI-generated writing, which often serves as a crutch for those hesitant to engage in the messy process of becoming better writers.
Creating a Record of Growth
The most effective tool in my arsenal is the AI Transparency Journal, a shared Google Doc where students log every AI interaction throughout the semester. They record prompts, AI responses, surprises, and struggles, fostering a culture of process, experimentation, and growth.
Initial Impressions of AI
In my ongoing summer Composition II course, I initiated an experiment where students uploaded our syllabus to ChatGPT, introduced themselves using a custom prompt, and asked the AI for insights about their potential interests and challenges regarding the course.
Eye-Opening Results
The results have been illuminating. Students reported feeling more prepared and reflective before even reading assigned texts. Even those initially skeptical about AI found the personalized and surprisingly insightful responses engaging. Several notable reflections include:
- “The response felt like it understood both the good and the hard stuff about me. It even helped me connect my love for reading the Quran to the diverse literature we’ll explore.”
- “I never expected AI to suggest keeping a personal phrase list to help with my vocabulary. That idea alone changed my approach to this class.”
- “Honestly, it was like having my horoscope read — but more useful. The AI’s clarity helped me understand the syllabus better than just reading it.”
Fostering Engagement
Even students dissatisfied with their AI responses appreciated the game plan it provided for tackling the accelerated course. Most importantly, it spurred metacognition, reflection, and writing before we delved into our first literary text.
Poetry in Practice
As I grade assignments in our poetry unit, students selected their favorite passages from either Langston Hughes’ “Let America be America Again” or Dunya Mikhail’s “The War Works Hard,” using a free AI image generator to create visuals capturing thematic elements. Their journal responses have doubled in length, indicating genuine engagement.
Assessing Student Engagement
Midway through the course, I compared student progress with that of the previous year. This semester started with 37 students, of whom 29 remain active. Twenty-four are earning A’s or B’s, consistently completing assignments. In contrast, last summer, after four weeks, only 21 students stayed engaged, and merely 17 finished with a C or higher, the threshold for transfer eligibility.
Addressing Technical Challenges
Despite these successes, my broad AI integration has not been without hurdles. Navigating the technology has required more Zoom calls with students than in past semesters. Yet, no one has complained. A 50-something student expressed gratitude for my guidance in learning the ropes of AI in an English class.
The Emergence of Community
Amid the trials, a deeper engagement within the classroom is emerging—an undercurrent of community and energy that resonates throughout our learning space, whether physical or virtual.
Moving Forward
As I reflect, it’s clear: our students require guidance in navigating these new technologies. If we fail to teach them how to engage with AI ethically and intelligently, the skills gap will widen and deepen the equity divide — an outcome we’ve spent our careers trying to dismantle.
Shifting the Narrative
It’s time to shift the conversation from fear to responsibility. Our students are ready to embrace the future of learning with AI. We must rise to meet them.
Conclusion
In an era defined by rapid technological change, it is vital for educators to equip students not only with knowledge but also with the confidence to engage with AI tools ethically and effectively. Only then can we ensure a more equitable future in education.
Questions and Answers
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What inspired the author to integrate AI into their teaching?
The author recognized a growing knowledge gap in AI literacy and felt a call to action to ensure all students have access to the technology and resources needed to thrive. -
What tools have been integrated into the courses?
Tools include ChatGPT subscriptions for students, the AI detection tool Pangram, and an AI Transparency Journal for logging interactions. -
How has AI impacted student engagement?
AI tools have fostered greater engagement, increasing the length and depth of student responses and encouraging reflection and metacognition. -
What challenges did the author face?
Challenges included navigating technical issues and the varying skills levels of students, which required more individualized support and instruction. -
What message does the author convey regarding AI in education?
The author urges a shift from fear of AI to a focus on responsibility, advocating for equitable learning opportunities and guidance in ethical AI engagement.
