The Worst AI Approach for Schools

Understanding the Fear of Making Mistakes

We’ve all taught students who hate getting things wrong.

I remember one of my students who would never start her work because she was so scared of making a mistake.

What if she got something wrong?

What if she made a mistake?

For her, it was safer not to begin.

Avoiding the AI Trap

Although it may seem silly, we can fall into the same trap with AI.

We can be so overwhelmed by change, and so focused on getting right answers, that we don’t even address the issue. Ironically, the desire to wait until we can create a perfect approach is the worst approach of all.

Having no plan is still a plan; it’s just a really bad one.

The Importance of Asking the Right Questions

If that’s something your school is struggling with, this will be a helpful idea for you:

Getting the ‘right answers’ is less important than simply asking the right questions.

Answers will vary depending on school context, student cohort, teacher expertise, and parent engagement. Answers will look different for different schools. But we should all ask the same questions.

Here are some of the questions we should ask of our students:

What do you use AI for?

How regularly do you use AI?

Do you think AI could benefit your learning?

What are your fears about how AI is developing?

What is your understanding of the limitations and pitfalls of AI?

Here are some of the questions we should ask of our teachers:

Do we have the skills to prompt and iterate wisely?

Do we know how to use AI without creating a data breach?

Do we understand the limitations of AI ‘plagiarism checkers’?

What are your fears and hopes for AI in your teaching practice?

Can we use AI in a way that makes our classrooms more human, not more artificial?

Embracing the Power of Questions

Some of these questions are simple, others are more complex.

Some have easy answers, some may never reach a resolution.

But during these conversations, I encourage you to remember:

Simply asking the question and having the discussion is a powerful step in the right direction.

Asking questions prevents you from employing the worst AI strategy: no strategy at all.

Why not commit to having some of these discussions this week?

It’s a great way to lead your community well in the AI world.

Until Next week,

Happy Teaching!

Paul Matthews, CEO & Co-Founder of MyTeacherAide