The COVID-19 virus and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly reshaped education, affecting both how students learn and how teachers approach their work. As classrooms adapt to these changes, a new balance between technology and traditional learning is emerging.
“The focus seems to be more on getting good grades rather than engaging deeply with the material,” says Mrs. Lewis, a Triton High School social studies teacher. She says that she has noticed a shift in student behavior since the pandemic, attributing this trend to the convenience of tools like search engines and AI.
Math teacher Mr. Haley shares similar concerns, noting that students often avoid taking risks. Instead students “will simply wait for help or try to use photo math, rather than try to think it through on their own,” he says. This reluctance, he believes, may be a result of habits formed during remote learning when unsupervised access to technology was common.
AI has also influenced how educators approach teaching. While Mrs. Lewis hasn’t made significant changes to her teaching style, she remains cautious about the overuse of AI, noting that curiosity and problem-solving are critical life skills, and using AI more often presents the risk of dampening these sorts of skills.
Mr. Haley has however started to change his teaching styles due to AI. “I am finding myself changing my lesson delivery and the types of assignments we work on,” he says. He does this to try and avoid the use of AI on his assignments and try to get the students to learn to do their own work.
He also says that AI can be used as a helpful tool, noting that he uses the AI feature on his Edia assignments to give feedback to his students while they are doing them.
Students are also finding ways to navigate this new educational landscape., “AI is helpful for understanding and checking my problems, but I try to solve problems on my own first.” Tihan Khan, Triton High School senior, explains. “I use it as a guide, not a crutch.”
This is the best and most responsible way to use AI. Triton has repeatedly stated that the use of AI to complete your assignments is against school policy, and Mrs. Lewis mentions that when students do use AI it is very obvious to tell. However, using AI like Tihan does is fair and is a good use of your resources that I suggest all students should do.
As education continues to evolve, the challenge lies in integrating technology thoughtfully while preserving creativity, curiosity, and resilience in both teaching and learning.
“Curiosity, problem solving, creativity, etc. are life skills, and the overuse of AI will definitely have an impact on what we are capable of,” Mrs. Lewis stated.
