AI is the topic of conversation at universities. But how can you, as a teacher, use AI to enhance your education? The new TeachEUR page offers an answer with five practical AI strategies. In this article, we speak with Sandra Lousberg (Risbo) about this page, and with Samantha Breuër (Erasmus University College) about an inspiring example of AI use in education.
The TeachEUR theme page
When it comes to education, generative AI is arguably one of the most impactful forces we’ve seen in the past few years. While AI in education is often viewed negatively, particularly considering the challenges with student assessment, there is also growing recognition of positive opportunities that AI brings. What if AI could enhance classroom discussions by providing controversial statements, or assist in creating visual content to explain difficult topics?
Recognizing these opportunities, the Community for Learning & Innovation (CLI) and Risbo, decided to develop a TeachEUR AI theme page: “We wanted to explore how for each current teaching activity AI can be a helping factor, whether it’s through adding depth, making it more interesting or more activating”, explains Sandra Lousberg, an educational consultant at Risbo. Ultimately, the TeachEUR team ended up with five practical strategies that highlight how AI can be implemented in education in a creative and positive manner. As Sandra mentions, “What we’ve come up with isn’t anything completely new, but we did create a more structured view that concretizes ways to use AI for teaching – something we hadn’t seen before.”
Five practical strategies for AI use
On the new TeachEUR theme page, you can find the five practical strategies for integrating AI in your education: AI as the Group Analyser, the Fun Maker, the Practice Partner, the Sparring Partner and the Time Saver. For example, using AI as the Group Analyser, teachers are prompted to use AI-driven insights to quickly identify shortcomings in student understanding. Each strategy is accompanied by concrete action plans, practical examples and teaching activities.
The TeachEUR theme page is part of TeachEUR, a platform that provides a wide variety of (teaching) activities, from placemat discussions to elevator pitches, all designed to inspire and help teachers create more engaging education.
In practice: ChatGPT as Practice Partner
So, how does it look like in practice when you apply such a strategy?
Samantha Breuër, a psychology lecturer at Erasmus University College (EUC), recently tested the strategy AI as a Practice Partner in her teaching. In her course Clinical Communication Skills, students learn how to communicate professionally with a client. Recent trends in healthcare, such as the rise of online counselling, have significantly altered the healthcare profession. However, they were difficult to replicate in the classroom until recently. After following the MicroLab AI in education (for beginners), Samantha decided to use ChatGPT as a conversation partner: “By giving ChatGPT specific instructions, it can act as a client with particular questions, issues, or traits, allowing students to practice online counselling themselves.”
This academic year, she did a trial run with a group of 20 students, using a standardized AI prompt. Overall, students enjoyed trying something new and appreciated the chance to gain “hands-on experience”. “The key piece of feedback was that it felt realistic, and because of that, they were able to learn from it: both about how to do it, and also about what they personally thought — whether it worked for them or not,” Samantha said.
Looking Ahead: AI for personalised learning
What makes AI ideal for educational purposes is its ability for personalisation and adaptation. In Samantha’s case, she can modify the AI prompt so that ChatGPT, as the client, adjusts to the students' level or displays specific personality traits. Samantha explained, “For example, you can say, 'This is a beginner student, so you need to cooperate and be open,' or 'I want you to be very stubborn, or perhaps very insecure.” Looking ahead, Samantha hopes to further explore how AI prompts can be developed to incorporate students’ personal learning objectives - offering an even more tailored and meaningful learning experience.
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Did this article inspire you to use AI in your education? Visit the TeachEUR theme page or join a MicroLab on AI offered by the CLI and Risbo.
If you have specific questions or are looking for more support, you can contact the TeachEUR team.
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