Using AI in Supporting and Accelerating Reading in Junior School

In the dynamic landscape of education, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly relevant topic. At Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong (DCSPD), we are actively exploring the potential of AI to support and accelerate reading instruction in our Junior School. Recognising the diverse needs of our students spanning several developmental stages, we are navigating this exploration with curiosity and caution. In an interview with Mr Dean An, the Educational Technology Coach at DCSPD, we delve into how AI is being utilised at DCSPD to enhance reading instruction, address challenges, and provide personalised learning experiences for our young learners.

Utilising AI to Support Reading

DCSPD integrates AI tools, specifically Microsoft Teams' Learning Accelerators and Reading Progress features, to enhance reading instruction in the Junior School curriculum. The Reading Progress feature, a component of Learning Accelerators, enables teachers to create reading assessments and practices. Leveraging AI, Reading Progress evaluates students' fluency, pronunciation, and tone of voice, providing prompt feedback.

Mr Dean An underscores that despite AI's integration into the learning process, human teachers remain pivotal in guiding and monitoring student progress. While AI offers immediate feedback and aids in assessment, it complements rather than replaces the teacher's role. Teachers maintain oversight, ensuring data accuracy, interpreting results, and intervening when necessary. For instance, if AI assigns a student an unusually high or low score, it raises a red flag, prompting the teacher to investigate the reasons behind the score.

This collaboration, merging AI's efficiency with teachers' expertise and insights, empowers educators to address individual student needs effectively and identify broader learning trends. Ultimately, this approach enhances the educational experience while preserving the teacher's central role in guiding student progress.

Challenges in Junior School Reading and AI Solutions

In Junior School reading instructions, teachers face challenges due to limited time for individualised feedback caused by diverse subject responsibilities. AI-driven immediate feedback becomes crucial for teachers in effectively managing these challenges. Traditionally, assessing each student's work is time-consuming, but AI streamlines this process by providing immediate insights into student performance. This frees up teachers' time, enabling them to concentrate on personalised instruction and intervention strategies tailored to each student's needs. Additionally, AI-generated data offers valuable insights into overall class performance, helping teachers identify trends and adjust teaching methods for effective instruction.

For Junior School students with busy schedules, which are often filled with extracurricular activities, AI solutions provide real-time assessments and insights into their reading progress. This ensures that feedback remains impactful, especially considering children's shorter attention spans and tendency to forget information quickly. Thus, integrating AI for immediate feedback enhances both student engagement and learning outcomes, fostering continuous improvement in the educational process.

AI’s Impact on Teaching at the Junior School Level

Discussing the impact of AI on teaching, Mr Dean An outlines six key benefits: personalised learning experiences, immediate feedback, adaptive learning, accessibility, data-driven insights and vocabulary building.

Individualised Learning Experience: AI integration in education offers a personalised learning experience, crucial for schools with high standards, aiming for every child's success based on their unique abilities. Recognising individual differences, AI-driven individualisation aligns with the contemporary emphasis on personalised learning in education.

Immediate Feedback: The efficiency of AI in providing immediate feedback was underscored as a crucial advantage. In contrast to traditional methods, where a teacher's time is limited, AI can offer instant assessments, aiding both students and educators.

Adaptive Learning: AI-driven adaptive learning focuses on each student's progress. By continuously analysing student performance and adjusting goals accordingly, AI ensures targeted support, maximising educational outcomes.

Accessibility: AI can cater to diverse learning styles and abilities by tailoring content selection based on individual student data. This ensures inclusivity and effectiveness in addressing the varied needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds within the school community.

Data-Driven Insights: The collection and analysis of data by AI tools is valuable for tracking students' progress, allowing educators to track student growth, identify areas for improvement and make informed decisions.

Vocabulary building: AI algorithms can suggest relevant vocabulary words based on a student's reading level and context, fostering vocabulary growth.

Addressing Concerns about Online Safety and Screen Time

At DCSPD, we recognise the significance of online safety and privacy, especially concerning the use of AI tools in education. Given the data collection nature of AI applications, we maintain a cautious approach, ensuring that our data remains on our own servers. Additionally, we establish contracts with partner services to guarantee that the data and privacy of our students, teachers, and parents are under our control and supervised by responsible professionals.

Concerns regarding increased screen time among children, particularly when using AI in education, have been raised by some parents. To address this, we host regular Parent Academy sessions, where parents are given guidance on managing screen time at home. Emphasising the importance of balance, we encourage parents to set limits on screen time and prioritise outdoor activities to promote both mental and physical well-being. Through parental control settings and open communication, we aim to empower parents in guiding their children's responsible use of technology while maximising the benefits of AI-powered educational tools.

AI, like any invention, requires responsible usage and understanding. Looking ahead, the development of AI in DCSPD Junior School education holds immense promise across various domains. As Mr Dean An shares, some teachers are pioneering AI’s use to generate images and videos based on student input, expanding its application beyond reading and writing to areas like artistic design and visual aids, as well as assisting in brainstorming activities in various subjects.

In the journey of AI integration at DCSPD, the emphasis remains on responsible and purposeful usage, ensuring that technology becomes an ally in shaping the future of education. Join us on this journey of exploration and discovery as we harness the transformative power of AI to shape the future of education.