One of the most common misconceptions is that teachers recycle the exact same lesson plan and curriculum year after year. While specific units and topics may remain constant, most educators will spend their summer break creating their curriculum from the ground up.
This is often one of the most daunting and potentially overwhelming tasks but with the recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), it sure doesn’t have to be. Here’s a great way to leverage AI to efficiently create (or revamp!) your curriculum this summer.
Create an Overview
When you’re starting from scratch, it’s always easier to start big and then work your way down to a granular level. This will prevent you from getting derailed or stuck on any specifics, remember, it’s easier to work your way towards an ending if you know what you’re ending on.
To create a broad overview of what topics you’d like to focus on throughout the school year begin by asking the AI to create a lesson plan. Be specific with certain variables such as grade level, length of term, subject, etc. For example, here’s what the AI created for us when we asked “Generate a fall and spring curriculum for a high school Calculus class”:
After your outline has been generated you can use it as the framework for your curriculum. Browse through the units it recommends and customize to your needs by adding or removing topics.
Getting started with planning a curriculum is often the hardest part, utilizing AI is an easy way to take the first step.
Use AI to Create Assignments and Activities
After determining what units you’ll be teaching, it’s time to start thinking of the assignments and activities you’ll have your classes work on. Here are two ways you can use AI to assist with this task. Brainstorm Activities with the AI
Brainstorm Activities Using AI
Coming up with classroom activities is hard. It’s even harder when you’ve been developing a curriculum for hours and you’ve hit a roadblock with your ideating. This is where AI can shine as your own personal Teacher’s assistant. You can use it to brainstorm ideas and help get the ball rolling. For example, we asked our AI to create five activities involving intermediate value theorem and here’s what it gave us:
You can either use the activity it suggests or change them as you see fit. Either way, AI can provide a much-needed boost when it comes to brainstorming potential classroom activities.
Use AI to Create Specific Worksheets or Assignments
After brainstorming what activities you’d like your students to work on for each unit it’s time to create the materials for those units. You can use the AI to either create the exact worksheet you’d like your students to use or you can use it for individual questions for tests and quizzes. For example, using one of the units from the brainstorming prompt above we asked the AI to create a worksheet:
You can copy and paste the exact worksheet onto a doc or choose specific questions per your needs.
The Wrap Up
Whether you’re using entirely AI-generated lesson plans or using them as jumping-off points for creative ideation, AI can significantly simplify the process of curriculum building. Interested in learning more about what AI can do for educators? Check out our blog post, AI: An Educator’s New Best Friend, for a high overview of how AI can assist you in the classroom!
