Empowering Educators: Navigating AI, Teacher Agency, and Lesson Planning

In November 2022, ChatGPT became publicly available, marking its initial release for widespread use. This milestone allowed users to interact with the model and explore its capabilities. However, as I approached the final stages of submitting my thesis after four years of work, caution prevailed. With universities lacking clear guidelines or established regulations, exploring AI was not an option for me. It was more important to me to err on the side of caution and safeguard my research and professional standing. 

Today's landscape often resides in shades of grey rather than black and white. Is using spell check or Microsoft Editor cheating? Is it the same as hiring someone to edit your thesis? Arguments for and against AI in research abound. I felt it was crucial to grasp the fundamentals first. For example, students must develop number sense before relying on calculators. I needed to master research basics without AI's influence on my methodology or thinking. I view research as reflecting one's professional experience, ethos, and personal approach. Ethical considerations loom large in AI's use, both personally and professionally. Issues of data privacy, confidentiality, and ownership pose significant questions. When does work cease to be solely yours? When and where should AI be used to promote learning and provide support?

I have been contemplating ways to provide additional support for beginning teachers, particularly in light of the teacher shortages. I interact with pre-service and early career teachers and pursue methods to enhance their teaching and learning. A lesson plan can serve as a scaffold for newcomers to the field, and understanding its components is essential. Lesson plans are roadmaps that specify the outcomes, materials, procedures, and assessment methods for a single class period. It concentrates on the lesson's teaching content, activities, discussions, and assessments, frequently down to minute-by-minute instructions. Experienced teachers don't often create lesson plans to guide their teaching but rely on units or work that are more detailed than the program. Despite its time-intensive nature, crafting a lesson plan fosters invaluable learning. It teaches pacing, activity differentiation, and formative assessment integration, ensuring students understand in real time.

While ChatGPT can generate lesson plans, empowering beginning teachers to create their own is paramount. Lesson planning is the foundation for teacher autonomy, as it ensures structured, efficient content delivery, supports diverse student needs, and enhances the overall coherence of the learning experience. In essence, lesson planning is not merely a procedural task; it allows teachers to demonstrate their professional competence, make educated instructional decisions, and ultimately improve student learning results. Then, once the process has been mastered, employ ChatGPT to create lesson plans that can be tailored to reflect the context and your creativity.

I am looking forward to reading Matt and Nick's new book, The Next Word. 

Always learning,

p.s. Today, I explored using AI to create a lesson plan. My prompts: Create a lesson plan for a Year 2 maths class in New South Wales focused on 2-dimensional shapes. The lesson period is 45 minutes. Include a literature book related to shapes. Include formative assessment. The lesson plan resembled one I had created 15 years ago and even included the same 'The Greedby Triangle' book. Nevertheless, sometimes you don't know what you don't know; therefore, it is essential to learn from and interact with others in the field.