Rishi Rajadhyaksha

Mrs. Leila Chawkat

GT Independent Research Period 1

May 12, 2023

Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

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Abstract

The education system plays a crucial role in shaping individuals and optimizing it should

be a priority. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to support teachers, personalize

learning, and enhance the overall learning experience. This paper explores the benefits of AI in

high school classrooms, focusing on reducing stressors, assessing students' knowledge

accurately, and preventing dropout rates. The literature review highlights the capabilities of AI,

including pattern recognition, personalization, and real-time feedback. It also addresses the

limitations of standardized tests and the need for a more effective assessment method. Stealth

assessments, which measure students' knowledge in a low-stress and engaging manner, are

discussed as a viable alternative. Furthermore, AI tools such as chatbots can provide

personalized assistance, reducing pressure and improving the academic environment. The paper

emphasizes the potential of AI in pattern recognition to identify early signs of struggling students

and prevent dropout rates. By analyzing large datasets, AI can predict student outcomes and help

educators intervene when necessary. The findings from interviews with AI and education experts

highlight the promising applications of AI in language learning, equity and access, and student

performance analysis. Despite the challenges of data collection, bias, and interpretability, AI

shows great promise in revolutionizing education. The paper concludes that AI can enhance

learning experiences by assisting struggling students and providing personalized support,

ultimately improving the efficiency and effectiveness of education systems.

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Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………….page 4

Literature Review…………………………………………page 5

Data Collection……………………………………………page 9

Rationale…………………………………………………..page 12

Analysis/Results…………………………………………..page 13

Conclusion………………………………………………..page 14
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Introduction

Virtually every single American has interacted with the education system at some point in

their lives. For many, it is a crucial part of who they are, and it shapes a lot of people. And so

optimizing such an important system should be a key priority of the nation. Artificial intelligence

can support the role of teachers and provide a more personal approach to students, enhancing

their learning experience and ensuring that nobody gets left behind. Computers are consistent,

and artificial intelligence is the future of the world. Education should be one of the first things to

get revolutionized, as there are so many benefits that AI can bring, like pattern recognition,

personalization, real-time feedback, and more. It is only a matter of time for artificial intelligence

to come to the education system, so why not sooner rather than later? Artificial intelligence can

help improve education at a classroom level in high schools by reducing stressors, more

accurately assessing students' knowledge, and providing a safety net to lower dropout rates.
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Literature Review

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are

programmed to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as learning,

problem-solving, decision-making, and natural language processing. AI systems are designed to

analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns and relationships, and learn from experience,

without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning, a subfield of AI, involves

developing algorithms that enable machines to learn from data, make predictions, and improve

their performance over time. Deep Learning, another subfield, involves the input of large

amounts of data into an algorithm which uses neural networks to improve their accuracy.

One’s education is a key aspect of who they are, and defines them as a person. It affects

the way they talk, the job they work, the passions they have, and so much more. Often, many of

the opportunities they receive are determined by a score they received on some test they took

many years ago or a grade they received in a class.

This system seems unfair, as some children do better than others because they have more

opportunities. This also disproportionately affects communities with lower socioeconomic

statuses or racial minorities. “21.2% of variance in SAT scores is shared with SES, as measured

here as a composite of mother’s education, father’s education, and parental income” (Seckan,

2012). Standardized tests are not the most accurate measure of one’s intelligence, nor are they

the most accurate measure of one’s capability to learn. One’s SAT score can almost be predicted

if a myriad of factors that shouldn’t matter are taken into account, such as race, parental

education and education, household income, and others. Often, stressors and test-taking ability

also play a role, and so while a student might have the ability to accurately answer questions,

under duress, they find it difficult. With artificial intelligence, instead of assessing students’
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ability to memorize information or prepare for a single test, students’ aptitude for learning can be

measured. The most effective way to do so is through a type of assessment experts have dubbed,

“the stealth assessment”.

The stealth assessment is a type of test in which students are unaware that they are being

assessed, hence the name. This creates a more comfortable testing environment for students, and

their knowledge of the subject can be assessed without factoring in stressors. Additionally,

stealth assessments can be more engaging. “The disengagement increases the chances of students

dropping out of school… when 467 dropouts were asked why they left school, 47 percent of

them simply responded, “The classes were not interesting”.” (Shute, Ventura, 2005) Stealth

assessments can be incorporated into video-games, simulations, and other more entertaining

mediums of assessment. Low stress learning environments have been proven to be more

effective when it comes to absorbing information, and so increasing cortisol levels hinders one’s

ability to take tests and learn, which is why stealth assessments are a more effective alternative.

Additionally, pressure can also be reduced through a different way. According to Lisa

Plitnichenko, “Lessons tailored to the needs of different learning groups allow students to stop

comparing them to each other. Earlier, a student should have asked a teacher for help in front of

the class. Now, it’s enough to type a query using a personal virtual assistant and get an instant

explanation. These opportunities offered by AI tools make personal progress come to the fore,

reducing the pressure in the classroom. Less pressure means less stress and more enthusiasm to

study” (Plitnichenko, 2020). Once again, this helps reduce stress, improving the academic

environment and eliminating a barrier between students and the help they need. Often, students

are afraid or unwilling to ask for help in front of their peers, but with a personalized learning

plan and chatbot fueled by AI, they won’t have to worry about this anymore.
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Further than stealth assessments and chatbots, artificial intelligence can be used to detect

patterns. Students may show early signs of struggling or disengagement as precursors to

dropping out. A teacher teaching 4 classes of 30 students may not recognize these signs right

away, but a trained system could catch the student and provide a safety net for them. Students

tend to exhibit signs such as “poor grades, frequent absences, being over age for the grade, low

achievement, and frequent transfers from school to school” (Hauser, Koenig, 2011). Sometimes,

these signs can be subtle and difficult to identify for a busy teacher, but on a vast system trained

with hundreds of thousands of data points, it should recognize it. This pattern recognition has the

potential to cut down dropout rates significantly and help marginalized students, and the

implementation of artificial intelligence here can really be beneficial.

This pattern recognition is what can be the safety net for hundreds of thousands of

students. The Department of Education reported that 2 million students aged 16-24 dropped out

of school in 2020, and half of those students dropped out because their classes weren’t

interesting or relevant or they were failing out. (NCES, 2020) This disproportionately affected

Hispanic and American Indian students as well, with those 2 ethnicities almost doubling the

dropout rate of any other. With machine learning, artificial intelligence can analyze patterns

exhibited by those students who dropped out and alert teachers if other students are exhibiting

similar patterns. This has great potential to significantly reduce dropout rates across the country

by ensuring that those who need the most help receive it sooner rather than later, or not at all.

The Center for American Progress reported that “Machine learning-based AI is more powerful

since the machines can actually learn and become better over time, particularly as they engage

with large, multilayered datasets. In the case of education, machine learning… can be used for…

monitoring student activity and creating models that accurately predict student outcomes” (CAP,
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2021). This means that if machines can accurately predict outcomes, then once the teachers know

the less desirable outcomes, they can focus on changing them for the better.

The world has changed significantly in the past few decades. Essentially everything has

transitioned from physical to virtual learning in some capacity, and so the children of today need

different knowledge than those of 40 years ago. Additionally, the ways in which they learn has

also changed significantly. Students’ attention spans have decreased significantly, and so winning

the race for childrens’ focus is a tug-of-war game between social media and school. Artificial

Intelligence has the potential to flip this rope over so that students are more engaged in school.

As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that a one-size-fits-all approach is not

effective for everybody, and AI can fix this. Especially for marginalized students, learning can

often be a struggle. According to Brianna Flavin, there are 4 main learning styles: visual learners,

auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, and reading/writing learners. AI's adaptive and

personalized capabilities can benefit learners across all four learning styles. AI algorithms can

analyze individual learning patterns, preferences, and progress to deliver personalized

recommendations and adaptive content. Whether it's recommending specific learning resources,

adapting the pace of instruction, or providing targeted practice exercises, AI can help create a

tailored learning experience that aligns with the strengths and preferences of each learner (Flavin

2019).

To further study this, I interviewed 3 experts in the field of artificial intelligence and

education. Here is what I gathered from it:

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Data Collection

Person Interviewed Name Question asked Response

and Title, Year

Assistant Professor David Could you give an example -Language learning

Weintrop, 2022 of an AI application that you -natural language processing

find particularly promising in + records of past performance

the education field? in said language

-data collected on other

learners to predict trajectory

How do you think AI can be -Develop personalized lesson

used to address issues of plans for students with

equity and access in disabilities

education? -Real time translation for ESL

students

What do you think are the -While AI can make material

main challenges facing the more personalized, it removes

use of AI in education? the human aspect

-Replacing jobs

-AI should be used as a tool

to support, not to replace

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Scott Fahlman, Professor How have you seen AI used -Most prominent way is in

Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon on large datasets, specifically marketing

University's Language with human behavior? -Buying habits

Technologies Institute and -Patterns and insights like

Computer Science social media

Department, 2023 recommendations

How have you seen AI -Apps like Duolingo look at

implemented in education? user performance and adapt

based on how user is

performing

What are some of the biggest -The need for large datasets

shortcomings of AI? -Potential for bias

-Data security

-Algorithms are often difficult

to interpret

Fred Hofstetter, professor in What are some early signs -Lack of participation

the School of Education at the that struggling students tend -Disruptive behavior

University of Delaware to exhibit, both inside and -Missing classes/assignments

outside the classroom? -Difficulty focusing

-Trouble understanding

concepts
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-If a student is doing well but

performance starts dropping

-separated parents

-foster children

-authoritarian or neglectful

parents, as opposed to

authoritative or permissive

How can these signs be -data could be collected on

analyzed by a computer? student attendance,

participation, grades,

completion of assignments,

organization, behavior, and

attitude

-algorithms can look for

correlation and produce a

formula
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Rationale

I chose interviews because while other methods like questionnaires and meta-analysis

are viable, experts in the field will have all the information in a compact area, making it easier

to extract. I interviewed people using a 2-pronged approach, looking for some interviewees

based on their qualifications in the field of AI, and others in the field of education. I was then

able to pool the data I collected together to analyze and synthesize it. This also helped me

obtain streamlined data in a way that was easy to interpret and I could follow up on topics I

didn’t understand as well.

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Results and Analysis

Student performance is difficult, but not impossible to predict. Multiple different factors

need to be taken into account, like previous student performance, current student performance,

and declines. Not all factors are quantifiable, either, and without a quantitative data input,

artificial intelligence and machine learning have hard times analyzing data. Some factors, like

focus and attention in class, can be quantified, but only through methods like 1-10 scales,

which are unreliable and often vary. Artificial intelligence also needs to be trained on

extremely large datasets to be effective, as it takes hundreds, even thousands of students, for

observable patterns to emerge. Additionally, these factors on their own do not indicate success

or failure, and without entering lots of data about a student, it is difficult to accurately predict

student performance.(Hofstetter)

Other fields, like social media recommendations, are also relevant, as the same

algorithms that detect when users like something can be used to detect a student’s response to

educational material given to them in class. This can help personalize learning experiences and

make students more engaged, through the same techniques TikTok and Instagram use to

capture their audiences. (Fahlman)

These results show how some intangibles are difficult but not impossible to measure,

and so if accurate tests to define intangible factors like one’s focus in class are developed, then

tracking progress will become significantly easier. That being said, there are serious data and

security concerns involved with inputting so much personal information into a large centralized

database, and AI certainly has shortcomings, so there is a lot of room for improvement.
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Conclusion

Overall, artificial intelligence in the field of education has come a long way in the past

few years, but there is a much longer way to go. Through data-analysis and machine learning,

artificial intelligence has the potential to assist struggling students and provide a failsafe for

struggling students in the education system. There are multiple areas where artificial

intelligence can help, namely through stealth assessments, predictive analytics, and

personalizing the learning experience. Stealth assessments relieve stress from test-takers, which

has yielded better results for students. Predictive analytics help teachers identify those who

need help the most to provide an equitable learning environment and decrease the dropout rate.

Personalized learning is more engaging and will elicit better stimulation from students,

allowing them to absorb information more effectively and efficiently. All of these can

contribute to an enhanced learning environment where computer helps man, and those who

need help will get it. It is up to teachers and school administrators to implement new, adaptive

ways of learning into their classrooms and the education system, but learning will certainly be

more efficient with than without it.

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Fahlman, Scott, personal communication, 2023

Flavin, Brianna. “Different Types of Learners: What College Students Should Know.”
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Harper, Tiffany. “Top 7 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Used in Education.” Training,

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