Week 4: AI Generated Lesson Plan Tools: Yah or Nay
- bethfreshour
- Nov 6
- 3 min read
Part One
I visited Magic School pricing to build an AI generated lesson plan for Pre-K students. The overall quality of the lesson was good. It is a plan I intend to flesh out and possibly use with students. The lesson plan generated does align with the standards I submitted. Assessments generated will support identified learning outcomes and are developmentally appropriate. Summarization of key points is helpful. The generator captures an important component I utilize but did not prompt it to include: the use of the child’s name in learning letter recognition.
One area of improvement can be found in the assessment concept. The use of informal assessment is important and effective in the pre-k age group. Not every interaction assessed is a formal lesson but may more so be an activity or even a conversation. I was concerned about the inclusive nature or tone of an AI generated lesson plan. There are some inclusive interferences, but those components can be improved. The lesson plan does deploy effective strategies such as modeling and hands on experiences.
The guided practice concepts do not consider that nearly all of children in the classroom have behavioral challenges based on age, development and circumstances. Classrooms interactions are not black and white and do not play out as nice as they sound on paper.
In my opinion this tool is useful as a tool, meaning it offers great ideas, concepts and framework, but it cannot offer what individualized human planning can when it comes to the need for rigorous lesson plans. This lesson seems to offer concepts that could turn into a unit and would require further development. Any one or two of the activities offered could become a full lesson.
Here is the lesson I generated; https://app.magicschool.ai/tools/lesson-plan-generator?share=1d98bd15-567e-4eca-b318-53251f891432
The lesson does reflect the readings we have in class. This lesson captures the engagement and extension concept that Kolb (2020), mentioned. The children have opportunities to engage in various ways with hands on experiences in addition to experiencing opportunities to connect with their name being a focal point of the learning activities. Extension activities are offered to be used at home or via another route later. I expected additional extension suggestions encouraging teachers to use everyday moments and conversations to extend learning.
Part Two
I chose to use the song generator. You can select a topic you want a song written about to a tune of your choosing. I was curious how much detail the tool would pull together on its own. There is a option to put specific details you want included in the song. I was hoping it would put the words to the tune I chose audibly.
It is useful because it a matter of seconds I could have any song about any subject written for me to use with students. The tool I choose would be useful in helping to solidify and further learning activities. Music and repetition are great ways to introduce new information and affirm existing knowledge.
Part Three
Magic School is a resource I will use with my students. I support educators and can see this site really saving them time but also help further their teaching concepts. What I will have to reiterate is that the content generated is not meant to be a copy or past activity, but rathe rather a tool like Kolb (2020) stressed. One of my major concerns is just grabbing the lesson and going without further development or individualization for the students being taught. In fact, I see Magic School as being a tool to offer individualized learning experiences such as personalized rubrics or assessments that meet children where they are in their learning journey.
Artificial intelligence in Oklahoma’s K-12 Schools document calls for human centered A1 in education. Its role is to add to or enhance human instruction (Oklahoma State Department of Education,2024). I would focus on the individualized supports that AI could offer. These supports would be available to teachers and would not be held at the mercy of the IEP writers. Teachers could provide supports in real time, effectively.
I have more experience spotting the use of AI tools in the educators I teach than in using them myself. Typically, I can spot them because of the copy and paste action they take with generated content, thus looping back around to my previously mentioned concern.
References
Kolb, L. (2020, December 9). Triple E Framework. Triple E Framework. https://www.tripleeframework.com/
Oklahoma State Department of Education. (2024). Guidance and considerations for using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools.
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