AI and Education

I recently attended a discussion on AI and assessment at The Open University. Because The Open University is a distance learning provider, they are (and need to be) at the forefront of edtech. The OU research found that AI can succeed in EVERY kind of assessment. AI can produce well-argued evaluative essays. AI can produce presentations. AI can solve maths. This brings up questions about the validity of academic assessments - how can we prevent students from using AI to answer their work (and passing with flying colours!)?

I am not personally inclined to spend time trying to figure out ways to make exams harder for AI to answer - this is a lost battle, AI improves exponentially. Rather we need to rethink why we assess and how we assess. More broadly, we need to rethink education.

Assessments that are fairer, more diverse, more humane are needed. Assessments that do not punish students for anxiety or various neuro-diversities. But crucially, they need to be only a small part of education. The core of education needs to be focused on our humanity: relationships, creativity, play. Areas AI cannot touch. Education needs to be based on discussions, experiments, creation. At the centre of these is mentorship. Teachers as mentors who inspire, challenge, engage. Who model critical and creative thinking, who model thoughtful living.

This mentorship can happen with my students in small groups. Over several weeks we get to know each other, we experience each other’s sense of humour, share jokes, become a community of learning. We learn as one student explores new ideas, as another shares an experience. Each student has space to process material differently and in their questioning to push peers to see different perspectives.

I cannot do this in large groups. As much as I want to… after a certain number my students become numbers. Then it becomes a struggle to figure out how much of their essay is their work, how much is ChatGPT’s. But in small group work, the essay at the end of the term is such a small part of the many critical, evaluative discussions we have had, there is no point in my students ‘cheating’ with AI. The essay is a culmination of their work not a replacement for it. Education happens before the assessment. The assessment is an opportunity for my students to consolidate their learning. And the relationship we have built is part of the reason they would not use AI – the assessment continues our human conversation.

What does education need to become more human? Not more exams. It needs more connection. It needs spaces where we speak with each other. Where we can get to know each other. Where our thinking can be sharpened, our intentions questioned, our ideas explored. What does this require? Investment in time and teaching. Teachers cannot create relationships if they are drowning under marking, lesson planning, assessment preparation. We need to change the focus of teaching back to human relations.