Transforming Education with AI: A Closer Look at UK Schools and the £2 Million Investment in Oak National Academy
13/11/23
03/07/23
Latest research shows that more and more students are now making use of AI sites
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58% of pupils say they’ve used the likes of Chat GPT, often without their parents’ knowledge.
Johnny Manning, founder and Director of Manning’s Tutors says this can lead to poor learning outcomes because without guidance, pupils will be liable to utilise the new technology in a non-critical fashion, blindly relying on the output provided to them and failing to develop the analytical skills needed to properly harness the potential of this new technology.
At a recent headteachers panel, he told the attendees “as with all previous advances in technology, it’s imperative that pupils are assisted by educators (be that parents, teachers or tutors) in mastering responsible use of this new tool to ensure they’re equipped for the workplace of the future.”
This is not new territory, the increased affordability of pocket calculators in the 70’s led to decades of debate as to whether they should be permitted for homework or exams. Ultimately, it was recognized that calculators could enable students to tackle more complex problems and enhance mathematical education rather than replacing it entirely. Similarly, the responsible integration of AI into education should be viewed as an opportunity to propel learning forward rather than a threat to traditional pedagogy.
How does the human connection provided by one-to-one tuition then complement or surpass assistance offered by AI? For millennia, humans have been social creatures, thriving on community, interconnectivity and peer support. There are numerous facets involved in education beyond the mere transmission of facts; verification of comprehension from the educator, a desire to be respected for their efforts by the pupil, shared joy in collective participation on a problem to name a few.
The dangers of school-age students using AI tools such as ChatGPT are widely documented. However, as with all previous technological advancements in history, it’s important that institutions embrace rather than resist the changes. Schools and Universities that continue to set traditional essay based work hoping that pupils won’t cheat with GPT will struggle (we all recall teachers begging pupils “not to just use Wikipedia”), however those that pivot to new assessment methods that encourage pupils to use new AI technology responsibly will thrive, and will have best prepared their students for the future workplace. For example, pupils could be tasked with researching for a mini essay using all tools at their disposal (libraries, wikipedia, youtube and, yes, AI), and then tasked with writing the essay from their notes within class, and with no access to tech – they’ll learn to filter good from bad information, and will also learn key skills in writing meaningful and useful requests for AI to answer, and how to fact check the responses to find reputable sources.
In many ways tutors and tutoring companies have a unique role to play in this response to the growing fears about the impact of AI on education as a whole. Tutors are able to offer the meaningful human interaction that students require in order to learn in a meaningful way, and to guide their students on responsible and diligent use of the emerging technologies.
What’s the take-away?
School pupils without proper perimeters and safeguards in place cannot use AI safely. However, we ought to resist the temptation to have a knee jerk reaction to this new AI revolution and stick our heads in the proverbial sand. Rather we should seek to find ways in which we can play our industry-specific part in ensuring it is used minimally and safely at this time to avoid longer term poor learning outcomes for pupils.