THE PREP PERIOD

Quick tips, tools & tricks you can take to the classroom on Monday

AI in Action Learning Tour | This week's tip comes from Instruction Partners​

You may have heard of Instruction Partners before. They are a nonprofit that partners with education leaders to develop their "capacity to deliver more effective instructional support for teachers".

They just published the fruits of their year-long endeavor observing 20 student-facing AI products across 16 school systems, interviewing over 50 teachers and 100 students in the process.

The result is the AI in Action Learning Tour. It's pretty darn cool. I know from speaking to many of you that there are still a LOT more questions than answers around AI tools. We all want to provide the best experience for our students, while keeping them safe and choosing the best possible resources.

The AI Learning Tour provides a great start! It's totally free and written for educators. My favorite piece is the Product Profiles section. Instruction Partners describes this as a tool designed "to help educators make sense of the variation across AI-powered products currently being used in classrooms". Here are some tips on how to get started:

1. Filter - Set your subject and grade band, then use the curriculum filter. The latter lets you narrow the list down to tools built to work inside any adopted curriculum your district / school may have, if that's a constraint for you.
2. Read "What it looks like in action" - Each profile shows what the student does, what the AI does, and what the teacher does.
3. Read "Users' take" - Three wins and three limitations from the cohort of interviewed teachers, along with their quotes.
4. Check "Evidence of impact" - You'll note that many say "no evidence yet." While many of the listed products have studies "underway", only Amira, Coursemojo, Khan Academy, Magma Math, and Quill.org have published studies demonstrating evidence of impact.

One more caveat: Instruction Partners make it clear that they did not cover data privacy here. Pairing the Tour with the Common Sense Media privacy review is a great way to get a comprehensive look at any AI tool you may be considering.

SARAH'S PICK

Education Next

​The Penalty Students Pay for Using AI​

"How does self-directed use of generative AI affect cumulative learning over time in ordinary school settings?"

This pretty incredible study demonstrates that students who were AI users scored roughly 30% above average on homework while their test scores dropped by 20%.

Although this research was specifically on AI use, it inevitably exposes the failings of high-stakes, once-or-twice-a-year summative tests and grade reporting.

It's worth noting that this grade-test mismatch existed pre-ChatGPT.

In their report, B-flation, Gallup and Learning Heroes found in 2023 that 79% of parents see mostly B's or better on report cards and nearly nine in 10 parents believe their child is on grade level in reading and math.

Meanwhile, NAEP scores tell us this is only true for about one out of three students.

I think we can safely blame AI use for the continued and dramatic slide as this data demonstrates. However, I don't think that truly gets us to the root of the problem.

Formative assessments are critical and administrators and policy makers need to place more importance on them. Homework has been outsourced since the dawn of time. Standardized tests have been instruments of bias from their inception.

AI is only one head of the Hydra. The real problem, the one we should have been solving for all along, is how to accurately assess student learning through formative assessment and share the results with admin, parents, and policymakers.

- Sarah

LOUNGE READS

The AI headlines that matter for your classroom

K12 Dive and Education Next elucidate two very different sides of the same coin, while College Board data shows AP teachers are leading the way on when and how students can use AI.

K12-Dive

​Utah district reports critical thinking boost amid AI deployment​

Jordan School District officials advise setting intentional boundaries and having students use the tech as a “thought partner” rather than a content creator.

"In the two years since the district adopted an AI tool, the district saw a 28% increase in students’ critical thinking skills and more than doubled higher-level reasoning abilities across subjects and grade levels, according to a case study based on an analysis of nearly 14,000 student-to-AI “conversations” from 82 teachers."

Education Next

​The Penalty Students Pay for Using AI​

New research shows students who lean on AI may be paying a measurable cost to their own learning.

"We now have rigorous, empirical evidence on the real-world, long-term impact of students using AI."

College Board

​AP Teachers Push Guardrails as GenAI Reshapes the Classroom​

Fresh College Board data reveals how AP teachers are setting AI boundaries right now.

"Many students will automatically turn to AI, even when the assignments are not difficult. I think because it was not introduced under controlled conditions, students have very quickly become reliant on AI to do thinking for them instead of using it as an aid. There needs to be so much more support and guidance on using AI to enhance learning rather than replacing it."

A NOTE BEFORE YOU GO...

I'm glad you're here! If something resonated this week, hit reply and tell me. If you know a fellow educator who would find this useful, forward it their way. The village grows when educators share with other educators.

Never hesitate to send me an email if you're looking for some human-forward AI thought partnership!