Image generated using Flux AI (Dev)

Because generative AI operates in a mind-like way, it has an ability to be a useful partner or copilot for educators, beyond just being a tool that drafts content. Recent research suggests that educators who seek input (e.g. ideas or perspectives) and output (e.g. resources and material) from generative AI gain much more in terms of workload and work quality compared to educators who only seek output from generative AI.

Seeing AI as a partner instead of just a peon

When approaching generative AI as an educator, it's useful to see it as a 'partner' that can provide different insights, ideas, and perspectives, rather than just a 'peon' that drafts documents and does the tedious work. With this mindset, we can engage generative AI tools with an openness and curiosity that allows us to leverage its strengths while keeping in mind its limitations - including the fact that we need a human educator to be steering the conversation and practice of education.

How do I use AI?

In the early (2023!) days of generative AI, one typically had to learn 'prompting' techniques and patterns to help generative AI tools understand our needs. With newer generations of AI models, this has become less necessary, although one fundamental heuristic remains true: it is better to provide more context and instructions to AI than less.

Over the next few pages in this module, we will cover a range of educationally-meaningful ways to use generative AI as a partner in your teaching, learning, and assessment.

In these examples, you will see a typical prompt structure that aims to tell the AI:

Role - giving the AI a persona or role to act in typically helps it to clarify its purpose.
Task - providing the AI with a summary of what you would like it to do helps it to focus its attention.
Requirements and instructions - the more context you provide the AI, the better it will be able to help. This includes providing examples, rules, guidance, formatting instructions, and more - it helps the AI understand what you would like to do and, importantly, how it should do this.

What are some examples of how AI can work alongside me?

This module, 'Generative AI in teaching', in this site has a number of different examples, including Suggesting analogies and examples, Making simple simulation environments, Suggesting assessment ideas, Improving feedback for students, and more.

CENet, a national network of Catholic and independent schools in Australia, has also developed a 'Core Processes for Teachers' model that helps us as educators think through the different tasks and roles that we fulfil every day, with ideas around how AI might support these processes including leadership, professional growth, assessment, curriculum, and community engagement.