Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a factor in education, from ChatGPT university-specific large language model (LLM)) to new AI generated-powered writing coach. Apple And Google provides AI training resources for students; Georgia Tech even has Nvidia AI Supercomputer students can use.
Educators themselves, however, have yet to embrace technology as quickly as their students — something textbook publisher Pearson hopes to change.
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On Thursday, Pearson release an AI assistant for instructors to help them create personalized assignments for students and save time preparing course materials. The instructor tool will be released this August on Pearson’s MyLab and Mastering teaching and learning platforms, allowing instructors to design courses, assign homework, and track student progress.
As Chris Hess, Pearson’s director of AI product management, demonstrated to ZDNET, a math teacher could ask the AI tool to generate an assignment with 10 easy and medium questions. Taken from a chapter in the Sullivan algebra textbook, the tool would sort through the 429 questions in the section and suggest the 10 optimal questions.
The process takes about a minute or two — Hess said Pearson is handling the delay — after which instructors can ask the tool to adjust the difficulty, replace questions, or save the assignment with those choices.
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Instead of manually searching through hundreds of questions, instructors using the tool can free up time to prepare for lectures or complete other intensive tasks, Hess explained. With continued use, the AI tool will also personalize responses to the instructor’s preferences, making course management more efficient.
Pearson’s AI Chatbot, in Beta, Creates Assignments
Screenshot by Radhika Rajkumar/ZDNET
“You can imagine that in the long run, this could evolve into something even more specific,” said Hess, also a former professor of biology. “Maybe we could suggest specific items to add based on [on] how students did on previous assignments,” he explains. Another development could allow teachers to ask the tool to copy and update a course from last year and make it fit their upcoming teaching date.
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“As student use of generative AI surges in higher education, many faculty report that they do not understand how AI can support their teaching,” the company said in a release, noting the gap between student and faculty implementation.
In the release, Pearson cited a survey Of 2,654 US college faculty, “38% felt little or no confidence in their ability to incorporate generative AI into their teaching practices,” although 36% said using generative AI to create course materials would be helpful. Pearson’s research confirmed that more students than teachers are now using AI “to help them learn more effectively and get better grades,” according to the release.
Like many AI tools, the goal of Pearson’s assistant is to reduce administrative workload and free up time for elements of teaching that can’t be automated, like working directly with students or paying extra attention to specific topics when needed. Other studies have also found that educators are increasingly accepting of the idea that genAI can unloading some of their manual work. Consider how much challenges teachers have faced over the past few years, this tool can be a welcome aid.
Pearson emphasized its commitment to deploying AI responsibly in educational settings. “Pearson’s generative AI applications are supported by learning scientists, vetted by subject matter experts, and draw on content from Pearson’s library of higher education materials,” the company said in the release.
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Pearson began rolling out its AI learning tools to students last year, including the company’s e-books “to provide personalized step-by-step guidance, content summaries, and explanations for difficult concepts,” the release explains. The tools will also be available for 50 Pearson titles this coming fall semester.
