In my 14 years of teaching, I've always embraced new and innovative classroom technology. I consider myself fairly tech-savvy, so when the pandemic hit, I leveraged these skills to keep students engaged online. While it was tough, I felt prepared. Returning to the classroom, I continued using these technologies, recognizing their importance.
The pandemic also highlighted the critical need to address students' mental and emotional well-being, adding to the responsibilities of catching up students who had fallen behind. This overwhelming task led to increased teacher burnout and attrition.
In November 2022, ChatGPT was launched, and a tech-savvy colleague immediately saw its potential for education. Initially skeptical due to my lack of experience with generative AI, I gradually explored its possibilities. My co-teacher's demonstrations revealed how AI could lighten my teaching load.
"What excites me is all the possibilities, that I previously didn't have the time to create, that with the help of the AI programs, I now am able to work through and create those types of lessons and projects." - Middle School Teacher
In 2023, I discovered MagicSchool.ai, a generative AI program specifically designed for teachers. Testing it for a UDL lesson, I created a comprehensive UDL choice board in an hour—work that typically took over five hours. This experience was exhilarating, and I wanted to share it with my colleagues. However, many were resistant, viewing it as another tech tool to learn.
This led to my key question: If teachers received professional development on specific generative AI tools, would they be more likely to use them? Additionally, I aimed to identify which AI programs provided the best outputs for UDL lessons, enabling us to focus on the most effective tools. This project was born from a desire to streamline teaching processes and better support our students through innovative technology.
Background and Need
Teacher burnout, driven by work-related stress and insufficient preparation time, is a significant issue in education today. The UDL framework, known for addressing diverse student needs, adds to the complexity and time required for lesson planning, contributing to burnout. This project investigates the integration of AI tools to streamline the UDL lesson planning process. By automating aspects of lesson creation, AI tools can potentially reduce the workload on teachers, improve lesson planning efficiency, and enhance student engagement and academic performance. Addressing these challenges is crucial, given the alarming increase in national teacher turnover rates, which reached 16% by the end of the 2023 school year.
Literature Review
The use of AI in education offers significant potential to enhance the UDL framework by making lesson planning more efficient and personalized. Research highlights that AI can tailor educational content to individual student needs, facilitating a more engaging and inclusive learning environment. Matt Miller and Holly Clark emphasize AI's role in providing resources for tailored teaching strategies, fostering critical thinking, and enhancing problem-solving skills. However, the effectiveness of AI tools in education is still largely unexplored due to their novelty, necessitating further research to fully understand their impact on teaching methods and student outcomes.
Action Research
This action research project focused on the impact of AI-driven pedagogy within the UDL framework in a Title One middle school. Teachers collaborated to create UDL lessons using AI platforms like MagicSchool and Eduaide, enhancing lesson accessibility and student engagement. The study involved pre- and post-surveys to assess changes in teacher perceptions and student engagement. Results indicated that structured training in AI tools significantly improved teachers' attitudes towards AI integration, streamlined lesson planning processes, and increased student engagement. These findings suggest that AI can effectively support educational practices, contributing to more adaptable and personalized learning environments.