Module - 3 - Creating effective lesson plans with AI and design thinking

 INTRODUCTION

This module focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence ai and design thinking to optimize lesson planning. The course emphasizes the use of ai tools and design thinking methodologies in creating innovative, student-centered lesson plans.

Teachers will have learned practical skills needed to develop engaging, life changing lesson plans that use the ai principle while preserving a human-centered approach.

INITIAL THOUGHTS AND EXPECTATIONS:

My initial thoughts and expectations were to discover ai's potential in education, I was eager to explore its potential in my teaching practice to enhance student learning.

Tech concerns may arise, such as the learning curve posed by new ai tools or the potential for technology to replace human teachers.

Exploring new ways to plan lessons that will enhance my teaching output.

I might be interested in the ethical implications of ai in education and how to address potential issues. 

I could expect to interact with peers and gain insights from their experiences and perspectives on ai and design thinking in education.

I might be worried about how much time I need and how to manage it while balancing it with my current tasks.

REFLECTION ON KEY CONCEPTS:

- What were the most important concepts you learned in this module? 

1. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can generate new content, ideas, or solutions based on patterns and information they've been trained on. These systems can create text, images, audio, and code that looks like human content.

2. Design thinking is thinking about what a user wants, questioning assumptions, and revising existing solutions to find new ones. 

Importance:

Lesson design is student centered and focuses on student needs and experiences.

Innovative teaching and learning methods are encouraged to foster creativity.

Iterative improvement is a way of ensuring continuous improvement through feedback and outcomes.

Holistic approach takes into account various stakeholders and factors involved in the educational process.

- How did this concepts challenge your previous understanding of English language teaching? 

These concepts might challenge my previous understanding of English language teaching in multiple important ways: 

Transition from static to dynamic content: Traditionally, English teaching often relies on fixed textbooks and resources. Using generative AI, it is possible to create dynamic, current content depending on students’ interests and current events which challenges the concept of fixed curriculum plans. 

Personalization at scale: Previously personalized instruction was limited by teacher capacity. But now AI can give each student individualized feedback, exercises and learning paths which changes drastically our way of approaching differentiation in language learning.

Redefinition of a teacher’s role: The integration of AI may change your role from being the primary provider of knowledge to being a facilitator as well as curator of learning experiences thus challenging traditional teacher centered models. 

Process over content: The emphasis on the learning process and problem-solving skills because of design thinking may not match with traditional emphasis on grammar rules as well as vocabulary memorization.

Iterative lesson design: In language teaching, this structured pre-planned approach contrasts with design thinking approach encourages constant refinement based on student feedback.”

- How do you plan to apply these concepts in your future teaching?  

In order to apply generative AI and design thinking concepts to my future English language teaching I can share some ideas. 

Personalised learning materials:

Use AI tools that can generate customised reading texts, exercises, or vocabulary lists according to the interests and proficiency levels of the students.

Adaptive assessments:

The use of AI-powered adaptive testing will adjust the questions in terms of difficulty depending on how well students perform to provide an accurate evaluation of their proficiency.

Design thinking for lesson planning:

Empathise: Define problems and challenges of learners through surveys or interviews. Define: State clear learning objectives what learners must learn based on the student input. 

Ideate: Generate creative ideas for lessons which could achieve the learning objectives. If needed, AI could be used to inspire such ideas. 

Prototype: Develop sample lessons or activities. 

Test: Implement and collect feedback to refine further. AI-assisted feedback: AI writing assistants can help provide initial feedback to compositions by students, so you need not worry about the lower-level concerns. 

Real world problem solving:

Design projects that will have learners using English to solve authentic problems using design thinking principles.

AI collaboration tools:

Introduce learners to AI-powered collaboration tools for group works, not only raising their level of language but also enhancing digital literacy.

Fast Content Creation

Use Generative AI to quickly create complementary materials, dialogues or discussion prompts connected to current events or topics of student interest.

CONCLUSION AND KEY LEARNINGS:

- How will the knowledge gained from this module influence your teaching methods? 

The knowledge acquired in this module on creating effective lesson plans aided by AI and design thinking is likely to influence my ways and methods of teaching, for example:

More integration of technology:

I will tend to implement more AI-aided tools in my lessons for developing content, assessment, and other customized needs.

More student-centered approach:

Design thinking principles will move me to keep students' needs and experiences at the core of the lesson plan-making process.

Using data to inform decisions:

I'll become proficient in taking data from artificial intelligence tools to incorporate into my teaching strategies and personalize instruction for individual students.

Increased creativity:

A combination of AI-generated ideas, along with design thinking methodologies, can enable lesson plans that are more creative and innovative in nature.

Iterative improvement: 

I will adopt a more cyclical approach to lesson planning, constantly improving based on feedback and results.

Emphasis on application in the real world:

My lessons may now be more oriented towards practical problem-solving tasks, which are much closer to how the language is used in real life.

More scope for personalization: 

I will be better placed to give students personalized learning experiences by changing the content and pace according to the needs of the individual student.

Shift in role:

My role may change from primarily a person who provides the information to more of a facilitator/guide in the learning process.

Interdisciplinary approach:

I may well find myself more frequently integrating language learning with other disciplines, as both AI and design thinking foster cross-disciplinary thinking.

Metacognition:

I am going to be much more concerned with how students can learn rather than what they should learn.

Ethical issues:

I will want to intersperse my lessons with discussions about AI and the use of technology to promote digital literacy and ethical awareness.

- Can you think of a specific lesson or activity where you could apply what you've learned? 

The following list includes some activities which blend AI & design thinking principles to teach English langugae.

AI-Assisted Story Creation:

For example, students could use a story prompt or beginning that comes from an AI writing tool such as the one we discussed above and then complete it in groups with specific grammar points or vocabulary.

Design Thinking Language - Challenge

Students pick wrangler a problem of Language Barrier in the community ( helpful to tourists), solve it using the design thinking approach, and deliver their ideas entirely with an English- only format.

Adaptive Vocabulary Quests

Have AI generate personalized vocabulary lists from student interests, then gamify practices of learning and usage.

Debate Preparation with AI

AI helps students explore topics for debate material, design thinking to help them organize their arguments and counter-arguments.

Virtual Cultural Exchange:

A cultural project in which we simulate a conversation with friends and family from different cultures using A.I language models before asking students to design, prototype their own Cultural Exchange programme.

INCORPORATION OF CONTENT CREATED WITH AI:

Here I want to show you some presentations created with artificial intelligence and specifically with "gamma app". I could create very detailed presentations with clear and precise information about the topic that I wanted to teach. 

This is an easy way to create presentations just in a moment and I really like the way this app can organize the information that I want to teach to my students. 

https://gamma.app/docs/Welcome-to-our-musical-class-y82l8swrbvcftpi

https://gamma.app/docs/Introduction-to-the-Present-Perfect-Tense-l7de8ll0hevwbcp