As a teacher, I’ve always taken pride in crafting my lessons. They embody my understanding of the subject matter, my knowledge of my pupils, and years of hard-earned experience. However, in a world where artificial intelligence (AI) seems to have absorbed every lesson plan ever created, my sense of expertise has started to evolve.
The Limitations of Experience
The truth is, no matter how dedicated I am, there will always be gaps in my knowledge and areas where my understanding could be improved. AI tools tap into more ideas and teaching methods than I could ever know on my own. It’s not about replacing my experience, but rather augmenting it – like stepping into a planning session with an experienced colleague.
Bridging the Gap: AI as Mentor & Me as the Lifelong Learner
Like many teachers, my training centred on well-established methods. While I was comfortable with these, the world of education is constantly evolving (especially now). Project-based learning (PBL) and gamification piqued my curiosity, yet I lacked the training to implement them effectively. This is where AI comes into its own.
AI-powered lesson planning tools aren’t just feeding me ideas; they’re providing a crash course in these approaches. I’m learning their structures, best practices, and potential pitfalls, enabling me to design engaging lessons that would have been a struggle to create independently. AI isn’t just about better lesson plans; it’s made me a better learner. It keeps me curious and forces me to broaden my own understanding of what great teaching can look like.
The IB Challenge
Working in an IB candidate school also presented some challenges this year. The IB’s emphasis on inquiry and connecting different subjects is a shift from my previous teaching experience. Adapting my existing lessons to this framework felt daunting, but AI has become a powerful ally. It analyses my current plans and suggests ways to align them with the IB’s focus on inquiry and a transdisciplinary approach. AI’s ability to identify connections helps me see new possibilities that might have otherwise taken me much longer to discover.
Never Forgetting the Human Touch
Sometimes my AI suggests ideas so outlandish I do a double-take. But even then, it sparks me to think outside the box in ways I wouldn’t on my own. I’ve now become prone to throwing in random ideas, asking how the lesson could be taught outside, using celery, footballs, or pavement chalk.
AI is a powerful tool, but it’s important to remember that students, like all of us, can get stuck in their ways. They might not always welcome new ideas, especially if they challenge what they already think they know. This is called the ‘backfire effect’. Basically, people can sometimes hold onto their beliefs even stronger when presented with contradicting information.
While AI offers incredible potential, this psychological phenomenon highlights why my role as a teacher remains irreplaceable. AI offers lesson plans and strategies, but it’s up to me to build relationships, understand my students’ unique motivations, and provide that essential human connection.
We must not abdicate our critical thinking skills. I would say that using AI tools has made me think more critically than ever before. AI may suggest a clever activity or resource, but it’s my responsibility to ask the deeper questions:
Does this truly enhance learning?
Does it foster the skills my students need?
Does it align with my values as an educator?
AI becomes a catalyst for reflective practice, not a replacement for it.
Matthew Wemyss 