Unit 8
MINI COURSE IDEA & LEARNING THEORY CONNECTION.
MINI COURSE IDEA & LEARNING THEORY CONNECTION.
LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS FOR INSTRUCTORS' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In the evolving world of technology and the integration of artificial intelligence across professions and industries, educators and the education profession still face a gap in leveraging AI to advance teaching and learning. Instructors play an important role in the growth and success of future learners, and instructors' empowerment determines the efficiency, effectiveness, and success of learners. Therefore, I intend to adapt the use of Artificial Intelligence in professional development to train instructors at higher education levels on how to effectively utilize artificial intelligence tools to thrive in their profession.
My mini course will consist of three modules, with the inclusion of formative assessment for each module, and the last module will be a summative assessment for practical application of the knowledge acquired.
Module 1- The first module will focus on introducing AI and its concepts, highlighting the strengths and limitations of the ethics of education.
Module 2- It would consist of the AI tools available and explain how these tools can be utilized by instructors in ways that align with educational ethics and standards to design instructions to foster effective teaching and learning. It will also highlight the use of text-to-speech and speech-to-text prompts for generating ideas.
Module 3- It will streamline the implementation of AI tools for curriculum design, Lesson planning, instruction delivery, and creating assessments.
Formative and Summative Assessment- Formative assessments will be used at the end of each module for revision and evaluation, while summative assessments will be utilized at the end of all the modules, which will be made simple to evaluate and understand how participants can apply the lesson to solve real-world problems.
LEARNING THEORIES
CONSTRUCTIVISM.
Constructivism is the first learning theory the mini course is grounded in, as it shapes how instructors construct their understanding of the course through reflection on their job experience, exploring how leveraging AI tools can assist in making their job easier and more effective, which will enhance participants' effective learning. For example, the instructor's experience in lesson planning and leveraging AI tools during the development of the lesson plan can help create a well-tailored lesson plan for instruction. The mini course will be built on real-world applications to teaching and learning in a formal online environment, which will foster engagement. I will apply constructivist design by providing the instructor participants with hands-on activities to practice the lesson using text-to-speech and speech-to-text prompts in generating ideas.
For the learning activities, I will request participants to use text-to-speech prompts on the provided AI tools to generate ideas for creating a lesson plan. Each module of the mini course will incorporate the use of formative assessments for reflection, which constructivist theory emphasizes to construct new knowledge.
Strengths
-It supports hands-on activities, and this is implemented by enhancing educators' hands-on practice on how to access and incorporate AI into their profession by writing prompts.
-It encourages learners to reflect on their learning process, promotes learning construction, and fosters metacognitive skills.
-Constructivism supports real-life problem-solving by assisting educators in critical thinking about using AI to support the construction and design of instructions and the instructional materials to utilize for effective teaching and learning.
Limitations
-Time constraints for instructors to reflect.
-Challenge with implementing scaffolding to guide learners to be independent in the application of AI tools.
- Risk of participants' disengagement due to a lack of social interactions through peer discussions or collaboration.
ANDRAGOGY
Andragogy is another learning theory that will enhance the development of the mini course, as it will enhance the application of AI tools to instructors' professions in real-world practicality, encourage participants' self-direction in learning, and understand the concept of AI and its benefits to their profession in an online environment. For example, the instructor participant can utilize different AI tools through exploration to identify the specific tools that would enhance their teaching, designing instruction, or lesson planning. Using Andragogy learning theory, the mini course design will be based on the skills possessed by the participants in applying AI tools to their teaching or profession in general, considering AI limitations, academic integrity, and quick application to solve real-world problems, which will foster participants' autonomy. For example, the participant's exploration of AI tools that can create a video with voice-over for an online classroom experience.
Andragogy can be applied to the instructional design of the mini course by integrating the objectives of the course and its relevance and practicality to real-world scenarios, and solving problems. For example, I will use the learning activities on how to use AI-relevant tools to brainstorm ideas that can be the start of an online class presentation to facilitate learners' engagement and effective learning. The entirety of the module has formative assessment included, which aligns with andragogy's activation of prior knowledge that can be connected to the use of AI tools. For the summative assessments, I will incorporate andragogy by curating an authentic task that will be related to the participants' profession. For example, the use of AI tools to redesign a lesson plan or syllabus will help participants to reflect and understand the changes made to what had been done before.
Strengths
-It fosters participants' autonomy through exploration and practicing the use of different AI tools.
-It enhances participants' understanding of the relevance of the AI tools to their profession and how they can help to solve their profession-related problems.
-It encourages participants to leverage their prior experience to build on the benefits of the AI tools in practical ways.
Limitations.
-Variation amongst participant in familiarizing with AI tools can limit their confidence and interest in integration.
- Adult learners' ideology of AI tools replacing roles in academics and other professions impedes learning by reducing intrinsic motivation, which results in low learning outcomes.
- The potential risk of cognitive overload due to the variety of AI tools that can overwhelm learners.
REFERENCES
Clark, K. R. (2018). Learning Theories: Constructivism. Radiologic Technology, 90(2), 180–182.
Damico, J. S., & Ball, M. J. (Eds.). (2019). The sage encyclopedia of human communication sciences and disorders. SAGE Publications, Incorporated
Shah, Priten. (2023). AI and the future of education : teaching in the age of artificial intelligence. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Brand.
Watnick, B. (2018). Education Today : Issues, Policies & Practices. Salem Press.