AI in education: Unlocking potential for personalised learning and classroom innovation

By Prateek Maheshwari Co-Founder and Kirti Prakash Mishra, Associate Vice-President, Physics Wallah

Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity and not as a threat.” This quote by former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs is particularly relevant in today’s times as Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has taken over almost everything in the world. According to a McKinsey report, AI has the potential to deliver additional economic output of around $13 trillion by 2030, increasing global GDP by about 1.2% annually.

Such a large-scale economic reset will not be possible without the integration of AI in delivering learning outcomes as well, particularly in school classrooms. Furthermore, students, who would be the biggest beneficiaries of this AI revolution, will get engaging content in schools and have their own personalised learning pathway curated on the basis of personal goals and interests.

The classroom would be a place where creativity, critical thinking, and innovation would be fostered. Memory and retention-based learning would be replaced with problem-solving skills and design thinking, essential for the next generation.

Here are some key areas in classroom learning where AI will make an impact the most:
1. Induction of Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Teaching chatbots have already started emerging, which can answer specific queries of students. With time, these chatbots will become smarter as they gather data from a large number of students. AI education suite Alakh AI is one such example, but at present, it is being used as a self-learning tool outside the classroom. Such tools can be effectively used in the classroom setting under
the guidance of a teacher, where the teacher can allow students to come up with solutions to challenging problems by searching for information or brainstorming with such intelligent tutoring systems, which will also evolve over time, transforming from mere chatbots to digital avatars of real or fictionalised teachers. These avatars will embody an ideal teacher persona, augmenting the real teacher by assisting students with homework, providing doubt support, and serving as a familiar presence in a classroom. They could also serve as a solution to the lack of trained manpower in a country like India and help transcend language and geographical barriers.

2. AI Enriched academic content: With the rise of specific AI tools, the creation of images, videos, animations, or PPTs is just a matter of seconds when using the right prompts and tools. Teachers can utilize these tools to create visual infographics loaded with academic content in the form of slideshows or videos. These tools will enhance classroom engagement creating a better learning space catering to all types of students, including those who learn more through audiovisual means rather than auditory ones.

Teachers can also incorporate AI-powered games into the classroom. Everyone recognizes the power of gamified learning, as demonstrated by Minecraft and Roblox, but the game creation process is so extensive and complex that its potential has not been fully realized thus far. With the emergence of AI-created gaming tools, teachers can also create games for specific learning goals and make learning stimulating.

3. Customised learning for every student: Every student is unique, and teachers understand this fully, but the academic rigor of schools and the workload of syllabus completion, as well as administrative activities like coordinating events, leave them little time to provide individual-specific learning. With AI, teachers can easily create customised lesson plans catering to the unique needs of individual students. Not only can AI tools help in creating individual-specific homework assignments to provide tailored learning experiences, but they can also assist teachers in creating adaptive learning experiences for students. Currently, all students in classrooms follow the same academic journey irrespective of their strengths, or weaknesses in specific subjects or chapters. Teachers can utilize the flipped classroom setup, where students use personalised learning content at home at their own pace, and use the classroom for doubt discussions under the teacher’s guidance.

4. Automation of assessment and grading system: Almost all of the essential time of teachers goes into handling administrative tasks such as the creation, conduction, and evaluation of assessments. Some of the other routine tasks like taking attendance, homework reminders, and providing course information such as the syllabus can be completely automated using AI. This will allow teachers to focus more on student
engagement. AI tools will not only help in the swift creation of assessments but can also grade students based on their responses. With the advancement of AI tools, teachers will be able to provide continuous and real-time feedback based on students responses in everyday classroom settings, rather than waiting for the end of the term or year. This will also provide students with sufficient time to work on their weak areas.

While AI promises to enhance classroom learning in various essential areas, it’s also crucial to address certain concerns, such as plagiarism, over-reliance on AI tools, reduced human interaction, and data privacy. Smart tutoring systems, even at advanced levels, often focus solely on cognitive aspects of learning, neglecting human and social aspects. Additionally, the storage of vast amounts of student data by AI systems raises concerns about potential misuse by unscrupulous individuals or agencies. Furthermore, digital inequality, job displacement for teachers, and algorithmic biases and manipulations are significant challenges to consider.

However, with collective planning involving all stakeholders, these challenges can be efficiently tackled. Measures such as establishing and adopting a set of AI ethics and standards can prevent data privacy breaches and manipulations. The role of teachers will also evolve from being mere information providers to facilitators of learning. In AI classrooms, students and teachers will thrive in an environment conducive to learning, growth, and the development of meaningful teacher-student bond.