AI in Action ✨
Transforming Teaching, Learning, and Student Success
Zia Hassan, MAT, PCC. 🤹
Most memorable moment in education 🎁
✅ Take 2 minutes to tell your partner your most memorable or impactful moment
✅ Switch roles
What is something you value, based on your story?
Submit it using the QR code.
IBM
DC Teaching
Microsoft
Other stuff...
- Doctoral student at JHU
- Corporate trainer
- AI in Education Consultant
- College Professor
- Podcaster
- ICF certified career coach
- Singer-songwriter
I help people find meaning in the midst of turbulent change. 🚢
Here's what my inner child says...
Quick poll
How familiar are you with AI tools?
Post it 📮
Wall 1: Hopes and Optimism
Wall 2: Fear and challenges
Move post-its closer together if they are related!
Debrief
Today's Agenda
| Module | Topic | Key Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Module 1 | AI Foundations & Creative Applications | • Understanding generative AI capabilities • Effective prompting techniques • Hands-on: Writing and iterating with AI |
| Module 2 | AI for Instruction & Assessment | • Creating and enhancing lesson plans • Providing student feedback • Rethinking assessment in the AI era |
| Module 3 | Supporting Student Wellbeing | • Addressing emotional overwhelm and isolation • Strategies for procrastination and decision paralysis • Creating personalized support resources |
What you'll need
- A laptop/computer 💻
- A free or paid account with an LLM like ChatGPT/Claude/etc ✨
- Microsoft Word 💬
- Web Browser
- Mobile phone (for QR codes)
Module 1
AI Foundations & Creative Applications
Let's write a poem
Now, let's iterate.
What is generative AI?
Roshi will grow out of it, Gen AI will not 👶
What are your biggest challenges when it comes to lesson development?
Prompting
Tell your AI what you want it do.
Provide enough context/detail, but don't overthink it.- Use your human brain and expertise to evaluate the output.
- Iterate and refine until you get the desired output.
The importance of asking for questions
Say: "Before working on this, please ask any clarifying questions that may help make the output more fine-tuned."
Module 2
How can I use AI for instruction and assessment?
Let's create or improve a lesson plan!
A couple of tips get started...
More Quick Tips 🎩
🎊 The Monisha Method
Describe your favorite teacher's lessons and ask it to create one just like it.
🎊 Quick document loader
You can attach documents or you can paste the content of documents wit the instructions to "just read this."
Let's improve a lesson plan
👍 Turn it from passive to active using AI (or use your own prompt)
👍 Iterate!
👍 Start by asking for questions
👍 Tell it to use a particular teaching philosophy or style
👍 Use one of your own lessons if you can
"But wait, why would I do that?" 😮
Humanize the parts of the process you love; outsource the parts you don't. 🤗
Using AI to assess students
Let's give a student feedback
ziahassan.com/txpathways/files
Download Child Observation rubric & Child Observation student work
AI-Enhanced Student Feedback Continuum
| Level | Approach | AI Involvement | Instructor Role | Student Experience | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AI-Assisted Preparation | Minimal - AI helps create feedback templates, rubrics, or comment banks | Primary feedback provider; uses AI-generated resources as starting points | Receives fully instructor-crafted feedback | High-stakes assessments requiring nuanced evaluation; small, discussion-based courses |
| 2 | AI First Draft | Moderate - AI generates initial feedback that instructor substantially edits and personalizes | Editor, refiner, and personalizer of AI-generated content | Receives instructor-refined feedback with personalized elements | Assignments with clear criteria; courses with moderate enrollment |
| 3 | AI-Human Partnership | Balanced - AI handles technical/objective feedback while instructor provides qualitative insights | Focuses on higher-order concerns and personal connection | Receives dual-layer feedback (technical from AI, qualitative from instructor) | Skill-based courses with both technical and creative elements; assignments requiring both correction and guidance |
| 4 | Student-Directed AI Feedback | Substantial - Students use AI tools to get feedback before submission; instructor guides process and provides supplemental feedback | Teaches feedback literacy; coaches students on effective AI use | Actively engages with feedback before submission; develops self-assessment skills | Draft-based assignments; developing independent learning skills; process-oriented courses |
| 5 | Fully Automated AI Feedback | Maximum - AI provides complete feedback with minimal human intervention | Sets parameters and monitors system effectiveness; intervenes only for exceptions | Receives immediate, algorithmic feedback aligned with established criteria | Practice activities; objective assessments; programming assignments; low-stakes, high-frequency assessments |
Is it cheating to use AI as a student?
Discuss.
Demo
Using AI to write an essay
Debrief
🤔 What are some alternative assessment methods?
🤔 At what point is it "cheating?" What is the threshold?
"You can't google these answers!" 🤦♂️
ChatGPT, did you write this? 🤔
Yes, it is highly likely that this was written by an AI.
What's your rationale?
It has complete sentences, proper grammar, and correct spelling. It is clear and concise.
Four score and seven years ago... ⚡
It is highly likely that this was written by an AI.
A main reason why students take shortcuts
How will you motivate students beyond grades?
Changes
- No more grades; only feedback (Alfie Kohn)
- Infinite redos (Carol Dweck)
- Introduce coaching conversations
- ... and a million more possibilities.
Change how YOU see your students...
Change how your students see themselves
(Carl Rogers)
Student Feedback
"I feel like I stress too much over grades"
"I wasn't judged on a single event, but an ever-growing process of learning; It felt like I was in more control of my education."
"Letter grades. Some students feel that their worth as a human being is affected by them."
"This could be the future of learning."
"Really wants you to learn by doing."
I enjoyed receiving feedback on what I could improve"
"Allows me to make mistakes without worrying"
What comes up for you as you think about the future of assessment?
AI is algorithmic.
Algorithm: a set of instructions
"Write an essay about Romeo and Juliet in 5 paragraphs."
"Do the steps in this math problem."
"Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Learning is creative
Creativity: something new and useful in a sociocultural context (Plucker, et al., 2016)
ChatGPT, write a poem like Ada Limon...
I felt nothing.
"Not very creative."
AI can create, but it is not creative. It has no context unless humans provide it.
Humans learn through experience; AI learns through text.
Empathy is the ability to accurately perceive others internal states and to have affective responses to them (Fuchsman, 2015).
AIAS
Perkins, Furze, Roe & MacVaugh (2024). The Al Assessment Scale
Creating student materials
What are examples of AI student materials?
Use AI to create
✏️ Rubrics
✏️ Worksheets
✏️ Presentations
✏️ Case studies
Pick one
Choose ONE Student Material to Create
Learning Resources
- Concept Visualization: Visual explanation of a complex concept
- Interactive Case Study: Scenario-based learning experience
- Differentiated Reading: Content at multiple complexity levels
Student Engagement
- Discussion Prompts: Thought-provoking critical thinking questions
- Collaborative Activity: Group learning experience
- Self-Assessment Check: Tool for students to gauge understanding
Student Support
- Personalized Learning Plan: Template for struggling students
- Concept Scaffolding Guide: Step-by-step guidance for difficult topics
- Study Strategy Resource: Materials to improve student study approaches
Sample prompts available
ziahassan.com/txpathways/files
Debrief
Module 3
How can AI support student mental health and well being?
First, let's get it straight.
AI is not human. It is not a replacement for a diagnosis.
Also, be data privacy-conscious.
- Local LLMs may become more popular soon.
- Do not use PII
Themes
- Emotional Overwhelm and Isolation
- Procrastination and Decision Paralysis
- Pressure to meet expectations
What are some prompts that could help us solve some of these problems?
Strategies for Emotional Overwhelm
What prompts might help?
"What are some prompts I can journal about that will help me feel less overwhelmed?"
"I feel disconnected from friends. What can I do to reconnect that's low-effort?"
"What are some affirmations I could use to speak to my saboteur?"
Strategies for Procrastination and Decision Paralysis
Pair and share
"I have to write a 10 page research paper on x topic. Can you create a ten-day step-by-step plan to break it down into manageable chunks?"
"I have three assignments, a part-time job, and a study group this week. How should I organize my time effectively?"
"I’m feeling stuck and can’t start studying. Can you give me a motivational message or strategy to help me get going?"
Pressure to Meet Expectations
Pair and share
“How can I politely explain to my professor that I need an extension on my project?”
“Help me write a kind but firm message to my family about not overloading me with holiday plans.”
“I need to study for finals but also manage my part-time job. Can you help me create three realistic goals for this week using the SMART framework?”
"Help me reframe this thought..."
Meet Maya
Maya is a first-year student who moved away from home for the first time. She’s feeling homesick, lonely, and unmotivated to engage with her classmates. On top of that, she’s finding it hard to manage her emotions as finals approach, often procrastinating on assignments because she feels so disconnected and overwhelmed.
Meet Sam:
Sam is a third-year engineering major juggling two big group projects, a part-time job, and studying for finals. He keeps getting stuck in a cycle of procrastination, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work and unsure where to begin. He spends hours scrolling on his phone instead of tackling his responsibilities, which only makes him feel worse.
Meet Jordan:
Jordan is a senior finishing up their degree while helping care for their younger siblings at home. With finals and family holiday planning on the horizon, Jordan feels pulled in too many directions. They’re stressed about meeting their professors’ expectations, spending time with their family, and preparing for graduation. They want to set boundaries but feel guilty about letting anyone down.