Over the past few years, rapid and relentless changes have occurred.
Even as schools stand still and face major challenges, COVID-19 relief funding continues to flow. Meanwhile, new technologies seem to flow in an unstoppable stream. These often have consequences for education, from an increase in homework cheating enabled by chatbots spitting out prose to experiments bringing ai into classrooms as teaching assistants or even students.
For some teachers and school principals, it may seem like an avalanche.
Some educators link ai to broader changes they perceive have been detrimental to students, says Robin Lake, director of the Center for Reinventing Public Education. Through interviews, she found that some educators link ai to social media and cellphones. Because of that, they're having an understandable emotional response, she adds: “It's kind of scary if you think about it for too long.”
But in this ever-shifting tide of change, Lake is among those who believe new technology can be directed in a way that leads schools into a more promising channel for reducing disparities in Education in the United States.
If that is to happen, however, it is imperative that education leaders begin to leverage ai to transform teaching and learning in ways that are beneficial, particularly for low-income and historically disadvantaged students, observers like Lake argue.
Proponents of this theory fear that if artificial intelligence does not help resolve disparities, it will make them worse.
Emergency lights
ai has been used in education ai-impact-racial-disparities-in-education/#:~:text=ai%20algorithms%20may%20exacerbate%20racial,trained%20to%20believe%20are%20accurate.” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>Since at least the 1970sBut the recent flood of technology has coincided with a heightened focus on disparities in student outcomes, fueled by the pandemic and social movements like the protests over the killing of George Floyd. ai has fueled hopes to achieve greater equality through its promise to increase personalized learning and boost the efficiency and sustainability of an overworked teaching force.
In late 2022, the White House released a “Blueprint for an ai Bill of Rights,” hoping it would strengthen privacy rights. And last year, the U.S. Department of Education, along with nonprofit Digital Promise, weighed in with recommendations to ensure this technology can be used “responsibly” in education to increase equity and support overburdened teachers.
However, if you ask some researchers, it is not enough.
It has been feared that ai… ai-for-students-of-color/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>accidentally magnifying biases either by relying on algorithms trained with biased data or through other methods such as ai-is-coming-to-schools-and-if-were-not-careful-so-will-its-biases/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>automation of assessments that ignore students' experiences even as they sort them into different learning paths.
Now, some preliminary data suggests that ai could, in fact, widen disparities. For example, Lake’s organization, a national research and policy center associated with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, published a report this spring that analyzed K-12 teachers’ use of virtual learning platforms, adaptive learning systems and chatbots. The reportA collaboration with the RAND Corporation found that educators working in suburban schools already report having more experience and training in ai than those in urban or rural schools.
The report also found that teachers in schools where more than half of the students are black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American had more experience using the tools, but less training, than teachers working in majority-white schools.
If suburban students — on average, wealthier than urban or rural students — are getting more preparation for the complexities of an ai-influenced world, that opens up some really big existential questions, Lake says.
Big promises… or problems
How then can advocates pressure ai to deliver on its promise to serve all students?
It's all about strategy now: making smart investments and setting smart policies, Lake says.
Another report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education calls for more work to be done to involve states in effective testing and implementation in their schools, and for the federal government to establish more detailed safeguards and guidance. The report, “ai-to-transform-education/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>Perverse opportunities,” also calls for more investment in research and development. From his perspective, the worst outcome would be to leave districts to fend for themselves when it comes to ai.
Observers speculate that part of the reason urban districts are less prepared for ai may be the complexity and sheer number of problems they face. Superintendents in urban districts say they are overwhelmed, Lake says. He explains that while they may be excited about the opportunities ai offers, superintendents are busy handling immediate problems: pandemic recovery, the end of federal relief funding, declining enrollment and potential school closures, mental health crises among students, and absenteeism. What these leaders want is evidence that suggests which tools actually work, as well as help navigating ed-tech tools and training their teachers, he adds.
But other observers worry about whether ai is really the answer to solving structural problems in schools in general.
Introducing more ai into classrooms, at least in the short term, means teaching students how to use screens and virtual learning, says Rina Bliss, an assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers University. But many students already spend too much time in front of screens and online at home, she says. This degrades their mental health and ability to complete tasks, and educators should be cautious about adding more screen time or virtual learning, Bliss says.
Bliss also points out a “printing advantage,” an increase in the amount of learning that is obtained from printed materials compared to screens, which has to do with factors such as interaction with the text and how quickly a student’s eyes can fixate and remain focused on the material. In his view, digital texts, especially when connected to the Internet, are “sources of distractions,” and the increase in screen-based instruction may actually be detrimental to students.
Ultimately, she adds, an approach to teaching that relies too heavily on ai could reinforce inequality. These tools may be creating a tiered system, with wealthy students attending schools that emphasize hands-on learning experiences, while other schools increasingly rely on screens and virtual learning. These tools should not replace real-world learning, particularly in under-resourced schools, she adds. She worries that over-reliance on this technology could create an “underclass of students” who are given artificial solutions to big problems like understaffing and underfunding in schools. It would be irresponsible to rely on ai as a quick fix for all of our economic shortcomings in education, Bliss argues.
So how should educators approach ai? Perhaps the right approach is one of cautious hope and deliberate planning.
No one knows exactly how ai will affect education, says CRPE’s Lake. It’s not a panacea, but she sees a real opportunity to use it to close learning gaps. That’s why it’s important to make plans to harness the potential: “A lot of people get paralyzed when it comes to ai, and if they can instead think about what they want for their kids, their schools, and whether ai can help, that seems like a productive and much more manageable path to take,” Lake says.
There's nothing wrong with having hope, he adds.
