An AI assessment tool

Rethinking quality education: Role of teachers in AI-based assessment

Kennedy Ashiagbor Education Jul - 23 - 2024 , 09:57

Artifisial Intelligence (AI) is transforming various industries, and education is no exception.

Rapid advancements in AI technology have become essential for educators and educational assessment professionals to enhance teaching and learning experiences.

AI-powered educational assessment tools provide numerous benefits, including improving the accuracy and efficiency of assessments, generating personalised feedback for students, and enabling teachers to adapt their teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of each student.

Therefore, AI has the potential to revolutionise the way education is delivered and assessed, ultimately leading to quality educational outcomes for students. The role of teachers in AI-based assessments is still critical and cannot be undermined.

Roles of teachers in AI application

Teachers are responsible for designing the assessment and setting the learning objectives. They clearly understand the curriculum and learning outcomes and can design assessments that align with these objectives.

Also, teachers can provide context to the assessment questions, making them more relevant and meaningful to students.

Doing so makes students more likely to engage with the assessment and understand its purpose. While AI-based assessments provide immediate feedback, the teacher’s role is to interpret the results and provide actionable feedback to students.

More so, they can use their professional judgment to evaluate student’s responses and provide personalised feedback based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Teachers can use the results from AI-based assessments to improve their teaching practices. By analysing the data, teachers can identify areas of weakness and adapt their teaching strategies to meet the needs of their students better.

They also play a critical role in ensuring the ethical use of AI-based assessments, as well as ensuring that the assessment is fair, reliable and valid and that student data is protected and used responsibly.

Teachers can provide additional feedback to students beyond the automated feedback generated by AI-based assessments. This feedback can be more personalised and help students better understand their strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement.

Teachers can use AI-based assessments to monitor student’s progress over time. By tracking student’s performance, teachers can identify trends and patterns and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly.

While AI-based assessments are designed to evaluate student’s knowledge, teachers can use them to foster critical thinking skills.

By asking students to reflect on their responses and analyse the feedback provided, teachers can help students develop their ability to think critically about their learning.

Finally, teachers play a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy of AI-based assessments. They must ensure that the data is reliable and valid and that the assessment measures what it intends. Teachers can also identify and correct any errors or inaccuracies in the assessment process.

Challenges to AI-powered assessment

The lack of stakeholder participation in developing AI tools for education can be a significant challenge in AI adoption. One of the primary challenges associated with AI in educational assessment is the lack of transparency in decision-making.

AI algorithms can be biased, leading to inaccurate and unfair assessments. This is because AI systems are only as good as the data on which they are trained. The use of AI in educational assessment can lead to a lack of human interaction in the assessment process, which can be detrimental to students’ learning experiences.

The use of AI in educational assessment raises ethical concerns such as issues around data privacy and ownership, as well as concerns around using technology to replace human educators.

Educators must be trained to understand how to use the technology and effectively interpret the results. Integrating AI-powered assessment tools with existing systems can be a challenge.

The development and implementation of AI-powered assessment tools can be costly. Adopting AI-powered assessment tools may face resistance from educators, students and parents.

AI-powered assessment tools may affect student motivation and engagement in learning. Again, AI-powered assessment tools generate large amounts of data that must be stored, managed and analysed.

Finally, AI-powered assessment tools can provide quick feedback on students’ performance but may not offer the personalised feedback and support students need to improve their learning.

Policy recommendations

To ensure that AI-powered tools are transparent, educators and developers must work together to develop algorithms free from bias and discrimination.

To capture the nuance of students’ learning experiences, educators should consider using personalised and adaptive assessment approaches that can account for individual differences in students’ learning styles and needs.

By using AI-powered tools effectively, educators need proper training and support. To ensure that AI-powered tools are meeting the needs of students, educators should collaborate with them to gather feedback on their experiences with the technology.

In ensuring that AI-powered tools are accessible to all students, educators should consider the needs of students with disabilities and provide accommodations as needed.

While AI-powered tools can provide valuable insights into student learning, it is important to remember that they are not infallible. More so, AI technology is constantly evolving, and educators need to stay updated with the latest advancements in the field.

To ascertain that students and parents are comfortable using AI-powered tools in educational assessment, educators should provide education and training on the technology.

The writer is PhD candidate, University of Ghana
Email: kashiagbor@yahoo.com