AI News Monitor

Lisa Parry, a 12th-grade English teacher in South Dakota, found her students’ essays on Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal were becoming repetitive. To combat this, she turned to an unlikely tool: ChatGPT. Parry instructed her students to use the AI chatbot to generate fresh ideas for their book reports, steering them away from overused topics like the effects of fast food on the human body.

One student, inspired by ChatGPT’s suggestion, explored how McDonald’s uses sugar in its products—a topic Parry found more engaging and unique. “It was a distinctive idea,” she said, encouraging the student to pursue it.

Parry is among the 40% of English teachers nationwide who have integrated artificial intelligence into their classrooms, according to a recent RAND Corporation survey of over 12,000 educators. However, this shift comes as literacy skills among fourth and eighth graders continue to decline, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, attributes part of this decline to changes in teaching methods in the digital age. “Students are reading on devices, and teachers are asking for fewer essay responses,” she explained.

While AI tools like ChatGPT can help generate ideas and provide feedback, experts caution that they are not a replacement for human teachers. Ying Xu, an assistant professor of AI in education at Harvard University, noted that AI lacks the social interaction and nuanced guidance that teachers provide.

Despite concerns, some educators see AI as a valuable supplement. Jen Roberts, a San Diego English teacher, uses platforms like MagicSchool and BriskBoost to provide instant feedback to her 160 students. “It’s a better substitute for a private tutor,” she said.

However, not all teachers are on board. Katie Thomas, a New Jersey high school teacher, recently banned students from typing essays at home after discovering many used ChatGPT to write their papers. “I worry we’re going to have a generation that follows AI blindly,” she said.

As schools prepare to expand AI use in 2025, Parry remains optimistic. “It’s the new Wild West,” she said, eager to see how AI can continue to enhance student learning while maintaining the importance of critical thinking and originality.