ai (artificial intelligence) is becoming a pillar of debates about the use of technology in the classroom.
We are already omnipresent surrounded by ai in our daily lives, in our smartphones, homes and transportation, to name a few examples, so this is a logical progression. In fact, in many K-12 schools, countless The learning technologies we already use to instruct, engage, and evaluate learning use ai technologies..
While some schools are discussing policies around using ai in teaching and learning, it might be helpful to know some best practices, do’s and don’ts as you develop lessons that use ai. and similar technologies.
<h2 id="ai-lesson-plan-tips-amp-best-practices-xa0″>ai Lesson Plan Tips and Best Practices
Intentionally use ai to help students achieve learning outcomes. Learning must be at the forefront of all use of technology, and the same goes for ai. Only use ai (or any technological tool) if its use will help students achieve the learning objectives driving the lesson. We should not allow students to use ai simply because it is “cool” or something new that the teacher wants to try. Instead, we should focus learning on the lesson and leverage ai to help students get to where they need to be academically.
Focus on skill development. One way to ensure that learning is at the center of any lesson that uses ai is to focus on how ai can support students’ skill development. This could be anything from helping students develop the technology?variant=sf116038″ data-url=”https://www.ascd.org/books/teaching-the-4cs-with-technology?variant=sf116038″>4C critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity, or specific mathematical calculation skills or reading fluency skills. Any skill that your lesson targets students works as long as the use of ai supports skill development and not just the use of ai.
<h2 id="ai-lesson-plan-do-x2019-s-xa0″>ai Lesson Plan Do’s
Use ai to improve learning activities. The best part of the lessons are the learning activities where we can see how students participate and connect with the newly introduced content. Since ai tools are dynamic, they can be used to support student engagement in lessons. Utilize students’ interest in ai technologies and create learning activities that excite them. As a result, they will not only enjoy the lesson but will learn more.
Use ai to help with real-time progress tracking. The reality is that class sizes are not reducing. It can be challenging to meet with individual students throughout the day and become aware of where they are in the lesson. By using ai tools within the lesson, you can keep track of how students are mastering the content; Additionally, ai technologies can offer students more practice or challenges depending on where they are with the content.
Lesson Plan Don’ts
Don’t create assessments that can easily be 100% completed using ai. Since one of the main concerns with ai is the possibility of students using it to do their work, it is imperative that when planning your lesson assessments, you do so intentionally. This means having specific metrics and checks with students that require them to provide non-generic responses. Instead of having closed-ended questions with answers that can be easily determined, ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions to stimulate students’ cognition and ask them to use real-world examples to support their narratives.
Do not use ai without your school’s permission. While you may be tempted to try to incorporate the use of ai into your lessons to enhance learning, you should also ensure that your use does not violate any school or district acceptable use policies. Share your plans with your director and/or instructional coach during lesson review planning, and be prepared to use some of the best practices and actions above to support your use of ai, as well as pivot, if necessary.
Just as we want students to develop information literacy and fluency in determining “fake news” from trusted academic sources, we also want them to understand ai, how it is used, and the potential uses it has to enhance their learning.
Hopefully, these ai lesson plan tips and best practices will be helpful to you as you craft your own lessons that incorporate the use of ai in your classroom.
