By John Murphy
As we send our kids off to school, you might pine for a simpler time and wonder why and how the new world thinking is changing the classroom, especially with AI. I want to share what I learned from articles and interviews with local teachers and administrators of both the public and Catholic boards. I hope you will be encouraged that schools use AI as a tool to enhance the learning environment and improve critical thinking skills.
In elementary classrooms, AI is primarily used as a teacher support tool. Educators are using platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Workspace and Canva to differentiate instruction and improve efficiency. For example, teachers can use AI tools to create targeted materials that suit all the different learners.
I also discovered that elementary students have limited direct use of AI. As TDSB principal Stephen Miles said, “The focus continues to be on building foundational skills and the whole child.” His faculty is aware of the screen time students get at home and he sees schools providing balance to that by focusing on developing their emotional intelligence, critical thinking, digital and media literacy, social responsibility and global awareness.
As students move into Grades 7 and 8, AI use becomes more interactive. Teachers direct the use of AI by students and help them generate AI prompts that encourage exploration and multiple perspectives. In my experience, the task of learning something can be overwhelming. It was not until high school that I learned how to break learning into smaller chunks. Now they learn this in Grade 7.
In addition, TCDSB teachers integrate AI into creating cross-curricular lessons and differentiated assignments. They believe that digital literacy is important and they need to teach where and how AI fits in.
Linda Edwards of the TDSB said: “The goal of AI use is to build and not replace student thinking … AI tools should be used as a scaffold, which means to help the student and not as a substitute for their effort, reasoning and work.”
In high school, AI evolves into a collaborative effort by both teachers and students. Using tools such as NotebookLM allows students to upload material like class notes or textbook chapters. It also lets them generate videos, podcasts or quizzes for study purposes. I read an online article where English was a student’s third language. The teacher made use of an AI translator and suddenly the student understood the literature. From these examples, I see AI can act as a translator, entertainer and home tutor, allowing students to engage with material at their own pace while still meeting curriculum expectations.
You might wonder how a school can keep up with the ever-changing AI landscape. I have read how boards are developing guidelines for it, and talked with educators like Mowat’s teacher-librarians Sandy Dhaliwal and Aneesa Lakhi. They are helping teachers and students integrate AI tools into the classroom. Their philosophy emphasizes a process over product mindset, and encourages the use of tools to deepen understanding. They facilitate workshops to enable everyone in the school to interact more effectively and responsibly with AI tools.
Overall, I see the impact of AI to be three-fold. Students can be more efficient in their learning; they have increased access to knowledge; and when practising critical thinking, they are developing important life skills.
If you have an AI story of interest to our community, let me know at transportation@ccranews.com.