Can artificial intelligence help teachers improve? A network of NYC schools wants to find out. | Chalkbeat
Urban Assembly, a network of 21 public high schools in New York City, is venturing into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize how teachers receive feedback on their classroom instruction. They are collaborating with the American Institutes of Research to develop an AI-powered tool that helps instructional coaches assess videos of teachers delivering lessons and provide feedback. This move reflects the growing influence of AI in education, where students are already benefiting from AI chatbots for learning support, but it has also raised concerns about cheating and bias.
While some see AI as a potential time-saver for instructional coaches and a means to improve teaching quality, questions remain about its ability to accurately capture nuanced classroom interactions and its potential biases. Teachers like Judy Cappuccio are open to the idea but approach it with skepticism, wanting to see the AI tool in action before fully trusting it. Currently, teachers in the Urban Assembly network record their teaching and review videos with coaches to enhance their practices, much like athletes reviewing game footage. However, this process can be time-consuming, limiting the scale of the program and the frequency of feedback.
The AI-powered tool aims to change this by efficiently analyzing classroom dynamics, measuring factors like student-teacher interactions, tone, and emotional climate. By leveraging natural language processing, it can evaluate the tone and respectfulness of a teacher’s language. While some details may seem small, they can offer valuable insights into classroom dynamics. The tool is intended to complement instructional coaches, saving them time by highlighting relevant video sections and compiling data quickly. It aims to support teachers rather than evaluate them.
As Urban Assembly pioneers this AI tool, questions arise about the potential biases in the training data and the limitations of categorizing classroom interactions. While it may miss some meaningful moments, proponents believe it’s a worthwhile tradeoff if it can expand the program to benefit more teachers……..[read more]
Rising Dough
How might the integration of AI tools like this one impact the future of education, and what steps can be taken to ensure fairness and accuracy in their implementation while supporting teachers’ professional growth?
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