Forest Lake Elementary School fifth graders, from left, Hugh McQuillan, Toni Pagano and Vincent Kennedy have found many benefits to using AI as a learning tool.
Photo courtesy of the Wantagh School District
Artificial intelligence is engaging fifth graders at Forest Lake Elementary School in the Wantagh School District, where emerging technology is being used to support learning and nurture curiosities.
Teacher Katina Sullivan is using AI as a tool to differentiate instruction for her students. When she gives them assignments through the digital platform SchoolAI, it provides her with real-time data on their progress. That informs her planning so she can provide targeted instruction either individually or in small groups.
AI meets students at their skill levels and pushes them further, according to Ms. Sullivan. When she teaches broad concepts, like cause and effect, students can explore it through a topic of personal interest. When AI produces an answer with a word they don’t know, students can ask it for a definition, which builds their vocabulary.
She can also use AI to support social and emotional learning. During a study of the animated movie “Inside Out,” students used AI to identify six emotions displayed by the main character with a focus on the character’s body language and the use of action verbs.
“It works at all of the students’ levels and it gives me real-time information,” Ms. Sullivan said. “We use AI for every subject area.”
Growing up in a fast-paced world of constantly evolving technology, her fifth graders have quickly embraced AI as a learning tool and are constantly exploring its capabilities so they can learn more.
“It pushes you to a harder level and you build up more critical thinking,” Vincent Kennedy said.
AI has also been used to suggest project ideas. For a study on ecosystems, one student created a rap instead of doing a more traditional project.
“It focuses on who they are as learners and what they’re interested in,” Ms. Sullivan said. “It also facilitates my teaching on a deeper level.”