How the biggest problem of classrooms will be resolved by AI

Let’s face it. Not all of us loved every teacher we had in school, or aced in all subjects. That’s because not every professor taught us in the way that helped us grasp concepts better.

Like how every teacher has a different teaching ability and style, every child has a different learning capability and responds to different styles of teaching. While some may be excellent analytics, others may be more visually oriented or creatively bent.

The broadcast style classrooms are an age-old concept that has been in practise for thousands of years. While it may have worked very well centuries ago, when classroom sizes were a lot smaller, it is no longer the best way to nurture childrens' capabilities. In fact, it does more harm in the most crucial and formative years of a child’s psyche.

Moreover, with classroom sizes increasing, there is an increasing amount of pressure on teachers, who are loaded with repetitive and laborious tasks such as reports and exam corrections of thousands of students. It has become physically impossible for teachers to complete those menial tasks while giving every student the personalised attention they deserve.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed many industries and is now set to disrupt the education sector. Big data has the power to take the burden of repetitive tasks from teachers and allow them to focus on their core responsibilities — supporting children, inspiring them and ensuring their wellbeing.

In addition to automating tasks, AI will also support teachers in understanding the needs of children, their learning potentials, which styles work best for them, and possibly even pair teachers and students who are better suited for each other.

Not only that, it can also address teachers’ bias towards and against students.

This will enable the hyper-personalisation of education — a boon if other challenges are addressed.

For all the good that artificial intelligence can bring to the classroom, it is dealing with enormous amounts of data regarding children, which can be potentially misused.

The security and sharing of this data needs to be regulated so that children and their future employment prospects remain safe.

The bias of teachers can also easily become the bias of AI, if proper care in data and coding isn’t ensured.

Grouping children and teachers also has the potential to disrupt the social lives of children if they are not properly exposed to their peers who think, speak and act differently. This can impair their ability to live in harmony in society.

AI can reach its potential heights when used as a tool for the support of teachers, thereby being a supplement rather than a replacement of teachers.