{"id":725339,"date":"2024-04-15T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=725339"},"modified":"2024-04-12T12:42:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T16:42:44","slug":"case-study-how-2-teachers-use-ai-behind-the-scenes-to-build-lessons-save-time","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/case-study-how-2-teachers-use-ai-behind-the-scenes-to-build-lessons-save-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: How 2 Teachers Use AI Behind the Scenes to Build Lessons & Save Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FRANKLIN SQUARE, NEW YORK \u2014 The sixth-graders learning about ancient Greek vases in their classroom at John Street School looked like students in nearly any other social studies class in the country. Wearing sweatpants and hoodies, they heard a short lesson about what the vases were used for and how they were decorated before breaking into small groups to ponder specific questions and fill out worksheets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But behind the scenes, preparing for the lesson was anything but typical for teachers Janice Donaghy and Jean D\u2019Aurio. They had avoided the hours of preparation the lesson might normally have taken by using artificial intelligence to craft a plan that included a summary of ancient Greek vases, exit questions and student activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClassroom preparation goes from hours to seconds\u201d when using AI, said D\u2019Aurio. In the past, the co-teaching pair had created lesson plans by scouring the school\u2019s literacy closet to sift through printed materials, perusing the Teachers Pay Teachers online marketplace and exploring Instagram or TikTok accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For this lesson, the two consulted the county\u2019s curriculum guide but also used Canva, a tool that automatically generated pictures of Grecian vases. The teachers turned to Diffit, another AI application, to craft a reading passage that explained the importance of vases in everyday life in ancient Greece. Diffit also created alternative versions of the text so it would be appropriate for kids reading at different levels, wrote three multiple choice questions to test comprehension and prompted students to draw pictures to show they understood the lesson\u2019s key points. The teachers added short-answer questions that students answered on Google Classroom, and they wrapped up the multi-week lesson by having students paint a design on an actual vase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sixth-grader uses his iPad to study the different types of artwork on Grecian vases during lesson at John Street School. Students had to choose a design that they would eventually attempt to re-create when they painted their own vase. (Wayne D’Orio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is just touching the surface of what [AI] has the potential to do,\u201d said Jared Bloom, the superintendent of Franklin Square School District, where both teachers work. \u201cThe promise really is to personalize learning, not just differentiate it, in a way that\u2019s not taxing or exhausting for teachers. This could revolutionize education a year from now, as the tools get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n