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Episode 05 Teaching from the Heart: Engaging Students Beyond Regurgitation
25 Plays8 months ago
In this episode, I reflect on the critical question of whether our students are truly learning or merely regurgitating answers. I challenge us as educators to consider what it means to teach from the heart rather than just focusing on grading. If you've ever pondered these questions, you're not alone, and it's essential for us to engage in this dialogue. I encourage you to think deeply about our teaching practices and how we can foster genuine understanding in our students. Let's commit to being more than just assessors; let's be transformative educators.
I referenced one educator's comments on REDDIT. Here is the full thread AI is Ruining Eduaiton
https://www.reddit.com/r/education/comments/1kim0ss/ai_is_ruining_education/
Featured AI Tool
Magic School AI https://www.magicschool.ai/
Prompt of the Week
“Explain [your lesson topic] at three different levels — to an elementary student, to a high schooler, and to a parent. Show the differences in tone and vocabulary.”
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Purpose of Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
As Christian educator, do you ever catch yourself wondering whether your students are learning or are they just regurgitating answers? And deeper still, have you ever asked a question, what does that mean for us as teachers?
00:00:15
Speaker
Teachers who are called to teach from the heart and not just grade papers. If you have ever found yourself asking one of those questions, you are in the right place. Welcome to the Christian Educators AI Guide podcast where we help Christian educators redeem AI for their teaching.
AI's Impact on Education
00:00:51
Speaker
Hey, welcome back to the Christian Educators AI Guide podcast. My name is Rob Almey. I am your host for this podcast. And today we are going to be tackling the claim that AI is ruining education.
00:01:05
Speaker
We're going to look at what's really happening in our classrooms, what scripture has to say about it, and how we can turn this moment into an opportunity to disciple our students, to disciple our students towards wisdom and integrity.
00:01:20
Speaker
But before we get to our big question for today's podcast, let's first turn to the AI news for the week.
AI vs. Traditional Teaching Methods
00:01:33
Speaker
In this episode's AI News of the Week, we have a story from CBS News that Alpha School in Austin, Texas is using AI-driven software so that students just spend two hours each morning on reading, math, and science.
00:01:50
Speaker
And as they spend that two hours, they're progressing at their own pace. At this school, there are adults in the classroom, but here's the thing. Check this out. They don't call them teachers. Instead, they are called guides.
00:02:03
Speaker
And the guide's role is to motivate, mentor, and provide one-on-one support rather than deliver conventional instruction like that we would expect of a teacher.
00:02:16
Speaker
Well, in the afternoon, students shift from workshops and project work to focusing on life skills like public speaking and financial literacy and collaboration.
00:02:30
Speaker
And guess how much all this costs? It's around $40,000 year. But the Austin School claims that students test in the top 1% nationwide.
00:02:43
Speaker
So this is one of the beginnings of the emergence that we're going to see of alternative education forms driven by AI. This is kind of on the bleeding edge of it. Now critics caution that this AI model of education is still unproven, and they question whether, rightly so I believe, algorithms can truly replicate a teacher's insight and all that human teachers bring to the classroom.
00:03:10
Speaker
Well, I guess as they say, time will tell and proof will be in the pudding. Well, with that move with that bit of news, let's move on to this episode's big question.
Deeper Issues Beyond AI in Education
00:03:28
Speaker
AI is ruining education. That's the headline from a recent viral post on Reddit. written by an exhausted teacher's aide.
00:03:42
Speaker
She says, students can't think for themselves anymore. They just want to write down whatever the AI, whatever the chatbot tells them without understanding it. This teacher's aide that wrote on Reddit fears a future generation that never learns to reason or create.
00:04:04
Speaker
So is this teacher's aide right? Is AI ruining education? For me personally, I get it. I see where she's coming from.
00:04:15
Speaker
I've seen that same frustration amongst other teachers. I've experienced some of that frustration myself. But in my heart of hearts, I don't believe that AI is ruining education.
00:04:26
Speaker
I don't believe it's the tool, you see. I think it's something that goes a lot deeper. You see, as a Christian educator... As one who believes that scripture contains the truth of who we are and whose we are, I think the real issue here is not the AI that's ruining education potentially, but it's the human heart.
00:04:49
Speaker
It's the same age-old struggle that we have been going through since Genesis chapter 3, and that's our human desire for shortcuts. AI, just like the calculator before us or the computer before us, is just a shortcut where it's easier for us to reach our final product.
00:05:12
Speaker
So the question really is, an is AI ruining education, as the poster on Reddit ruining education? Instead, is the question is, how do we help our students choose wisdom and discernment and learning over sheer convenience?
00:05:33
Speaker
The teacher in the post
Risks of Over-Reliance on AI
00:05:34
Speaker
paints a bleak picture. Kids copying AI answers. repeating vocabulary that they don't even know, unable to explain their thinking. She goes on and on in the post. And she's right that something vital is being lost.
00:05:50
Speaker
But again, that loss isn't caused by the tool itself. It's caused by a generation being discipled by ease instead of effort. Unless we make this a generational thing too, it's important to understand whether you're 14, 45, or 67, that all of us have become conditioned to a life of ease and instant gratification.
00:06:16
Speaker
We have been conditioned to take the quick and the easy way out. But for Christian educators, we may become and look at this with a little bit of a different lens.
00:06:28
Speaker
Proverbs chapter 4 verse 7 states, Wisdom is the principal thing. It is the main thing. Therefore, and get wisdom.
00:06:40
Speaker
As we think about learning, learning is really formation. It happens through questioning.
00:06:51
Speaker
It happens through wrestling. It even happens through process. If our students are missing that, then they are missing a good part of learning.
00:07:06
Speaker
They're missing a good part of how God has designed to shape their minds and their hearts. So,
00:07:17
Speaker
The real issue isn't necessarily that it's AI that is causing this. Instead, it's laziness and convenience.
00:07:30
Speaker
So our task is to disciple students towards stewardship, to show them that using technology, using technology with integrity, I should say, honors God.
Redesigning Assignments with AI
00:07:43
Speaker
And AI as a tool can be a helper with that, when it's used to learn and to enhance, but not to lie. AI can be a helper, let me repeat that, when it's used to learn and not to lie.
00:08:02
Speaker
So how do we respond as Christian educators? What do we do?
00:08:10
Speaker
Well, redesign assignments. Redesign assignments so that that students will show the process that they went through. Maybe they share their brainstorming notes.
00:08:22
Speaker
Maybe they share reflections or how they went about editing something, not just the final product. And maybe part of their grade is based on and is compartmentalized into those different parts. we redesign our assignments so that the AI is used to learn and not to lie.
00:08:43
Speaker
We also have to teach our students AI discernment. If AI is truly going to be a tool and not the ruiner of an education. We need to teach ah our students how to fact check that, hey, AI is a machine.
00:08:59
Speaker
It makes mistakes. We have to question it. We have to improve what AI puts out. We have to enhance it. It is our servant.
00:09:11
Speaker
We are not AI's servant. And so we have to always test it. We have to test what AI says to our own wisdom. But even more importantly, whatever AI spits out, just like everything else, we must test it against God's word rather than accept it blindly.
00:09:31
Speaker
And if we're going to help our students so that AI doesn't ruin education, we have to frame integrity biblically. You know, this isn't just some let's sit in a circle and hold hands and sing kumbaya type of integrity that we're talking about.
00:09:50
Speaker
We're talking about integrity that is grounded in God's word. I think of Colossians chapter 3, verse 23, where it talks about how our work, and that includes our schoolwork for our students, is really part of our worship of God.
00:10:07
Speaker
Whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
00:10:19
Speaker
That's what it means to frame integrity biblically. When we do that, AI becomes our classroom partner.
00:10:29
Speaker
It's not a threat. It's not the big bad AI. as the Reddit poster posted, that's going to ruin education. Let's turn now to a a useful tool in the classroom, to our featured tool for this episode, as we move on to our next segment of the show.
Magic School AI for Teachers
00:10:55
Speaker
Today's featured tool is Magic School AI. Some of you might use Magic School AI. It is a great ah product and platform. It's a free platform like many um many of these platforms that use AI.
00:11:09
Speaker
It's a freemium, so you get so a certain amount free and then you can pay to get enhanced things. But even the free version is very useful. It helps teachers brainstorm lesson ideas, create exit tickets,
00:11:22
Speaker
differentiate reading passages, write parent emails, all kinds of stuff, all while keeping the teacher in control. You can use it to save your prep time so you can spend more time mentoring students, building relationships with your students, praying with students. You can spend some time taking care of yourself.
00:11:40
Speaker
You see, that's biblical, too. It's called the Sabbath. Now i'm getting a little bit snarky. But this is what we call redeeming technology for our ministry. Redeeming AI for the sake of education. Redeeming AI for the gospel.
00:11:56
Speaker
And that's what we're all about here at the Christian Educators AI Guide. Let's move down to the next segment of our show. Now that we've talked about our feature tool and talk about our quick tip and our prompt of the week.
Teaching Adaptability & Communication with AI
00:12:16
Speaker
This episode's prompt is a classroom prompt that you can use with ah your students. It's one where you can bring up Gemini or ChatGPT on perhaps your smart board.
00:12:27
Speaker
And you can type into it, explain your lesson topic. I put that in and brackets. And so whatever you're talking about, explain photosynthesis, let's say, for the sake of our prompt.
00:12:39
Speaker
Explain photosynthesis at three different levels to an elementary student, to a high schooler, and to a parent. Show the differences in tone and vocabulary.
00:12:52
Speaker
And then let ChatGPT, let Gemini do its thing. And then it's a great teaching opportunity, a great teaching moment to use that prompt and to examine the output that is generated by ChatGPT or Gemini and show and help the students to see how AI answers differently and how what AI generated can be evaluated.
00:13:21
Speaker
You can encourage your students to evaluate, edit, and reflect on how well The AI did. can encourage them rather than copying something like that to put it into their own words, to make it their own.
00:13:36
Speaker
It also teaches adaptability, a skill rooted in wisdom and in communication.
Incorporating AI with Integrity & Wisdom
00:13:44
Speaker
As usual, we have covered a lot in this episode, as we always do. And one thing that we know is certain, and that is that we need God's help when it comes to all of this AI stuff.
00:13:58
Speaker
As we contemplate these questions such as, AI going to ruin education? We might be able to say, ah goes a little little bit deeper than just blaming the AI. That is really a heart issue.
00:14:12
Speaker
But as we think about how we as Christian educators can help our students use AI with integrity, with wisdom, and with discernment for God's glory, we know we need God's help.
00:14:26
Speaker
So having acknowledged that, will you join me in a word of prayer as we begin to close out this episode? Let's pray.
00:14:36
Speaker
Lord God, our gracious Heavenly Father, We thank you so much for all of the many blessings that you pour out upon us each and every day. Lord, as we wrestle with this new tool that you have made available to us called AI, we pray that you would use it so that we might think more about ourselves and our hearts and that we could examine our hearts and that we might not be quick to blame the tool, but instead we would be quick to examine our own heart.
00:15:13
Speaker
We know, O God, that You are one that looks not on our outward form, but You look at our hearts. You examine our hearts. You call us to repentance.
00:15:24
Speaker
You call us to clean hearts, Lord. And so pour out your Holy Spirit on these Christian educators that are listening today. Lord, give them wisdom and discernment as they seek to do their very best to lead their students in such a time as this.
00:15:39
Speaker
We pray all of these things in the powerful name of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. Amen.
00:15:51
Speaker
If today's episode encouraged you, It would mean the world to me if you would take a moment and share it with another Christian educator who's wrestling with AI in their classroom. Maybe share it with another Christian educator who thinks that ai is the work of the devil and it's going to ruin education.
00:16:09
Speaker
You can also go ahead and subscribe wherever you find your podcasts on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple so that you don't ever miss an episode. But now I hope that you will go out and that you will redeem ai For education.
00:16:27
Speaker
I hope that you will go out and redeem AI for the gospel. And as you do so, may you go in God's peace.