Physical Articles to Classroom material
- Felix
- Nov 24, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
Students often impress me with their ability to use tools like image-to-3D model generation quickly and effectively. But as teachers, we can harness these same tools, and even go beyond! With the wealth of knowledge we gain from reading books, articles, and online content, we have the perfect foundation to use AI creatively and powerfully.
Many people know the basics: copy-pasting text into ChatGPT to summarize or analyze an article is straightforward and useful. But did you know you can take it further? You can install ChatGPT on your phone, or upload a photo to your PC, and use AI to analyze the content or generate creative outputs from it. You can even ask it to analyze your room. In this blog post, we’ll explore these possibilities and how they can elevate your teaching.
The book I was reading (Dutch)
I was reading the book "Handbook for Language-Oriented Subject Education" as part of a work course and found it surprisingly practical. That got me thinking, how could I turn this knowledge into a reusable prompt for any topic I teach? To explore this idea, I asked ChatGPT:
"Can you summarize this picture so I can redesign my lessons for any subject, based on the information provided here?"
>ChatGPT output:
Open & Close me (ChatGPT output)
The image focuses on lesson planning based on the model of transitioning from context-embedded and less cognitively demanding tasks (DAT) to context-reduced and more cognitively demanding tasks (CAT). Here’s a summarized breakdown:
Key Framework for Lesson Planning:
Understand Cognitive Demand and Context:
DAT (low cognitive demand, high context): Use concrete, familiar, and supportive examples to build understanding. Focus on integrating prior knowledge.
CAT (high cognitive demand, low context): Gradually move towards abstract thinking, independent reasoning, and complex tasks.
Steps to Redesign Lessons:
Assess Student Development:
Define clear learning objectives.
Determine how to evaluate progress (e.g., tests, portfolios, oral discussions).
Include assessments that check for deeper understanding (aligned with CAT-level thinking).
Contextualize the Theme:
Provide meaningful, familiar contexts for students to explore the topic (e.g., their experiences or real-world scenarios).
Select activities to transition from DAT to CAT (e.g., guided discussions evolving into independent tasks).
Plan Activities for Progression:
Start with tasks that leverage prior knowledge.
Incorporate group work, discussions, and problem-solving that gradually reduce context while increasing cognitive demand.
Support Student Expression:
Enable students to articulate their learning through discussions, reflections, or projects.
Encourage independent application of concepts in unfamiliar contexts.
Incorporate Explicit Scaffolding:
Provide clear instructions and support in the early stages (DAT).
Gradually remove scaffolds to build independent skills and CAT-level thinking.
Practical Tip:
Use the quadrant model shown in the image to plan activities that help students move across the spectrum:
High-context, low-demand (easy entry points) → Low-context, high-demand (complex mastery).
By structuring lessons this way, you can systematically guide students from simple, familiar tasks to advanced, independent learning in any subject.
Now, this is way too big and not really useful yet! But you do know now that ChatGPT can analyze pictures and summarize them. Let's see if it can analyze this POV while I am writing. The question I asked ChatGPT (for picture below): "Analyze this picture into the very details you see and describe them and give a conclusion to what's happening here"
>ChatGPT output:
Open & Close me (ChatGPT output)
Visual Details:
Laptop View:
A laptop keyboard with red backlighting and an MSI logo visible.
A visible screen displaying a document editor or writing platform.
Text is written within the editor, referring to ChatGPT’s capabilities.
The text in the document references summarizing pictures and analyzing them, similar to your query.
Document Content:
A question in the editor asks about summarizing a picture to redesign lessons for any subject.
ChatGPT’s output is partially visible, indicating an analysis of the request.
Physical Setup:
A desk setup with the laptop in focus.
The camera's point of view shows a frontal shot of the laptop, likely taken by the user.
External lighting and reflections on the laptop screen indicate indoor use.
Analysis and Conclusion:
The image showcases someone actively working on a project involving AI (likely ChatGPT) to assist with educational or analytical tasks. The user is testing the AI’s abilities to analyze pictures and texts. The laptop setup suggests a professional or personal interest in exploring technological tools, and the document demonstrates engagement with ChatGPT to refine or evaluate its response capabilities.
This setup reflects a focus on learning, teaching, or experimenting with AI functionality in a real-time context.
Now I have to say, this is kind of scary. Imagine if it filmed you nonstop, it would know everything about you, because even from this picture, it can make some pretty good conclusions about what's happening here!
But let's get back to our article prompt and make it more fun! I found the article interesting because of how I could use it. I can apply it for any purpose by asking ChatGPT specific questions. For example, I could ask it to write a more tailored prompt to make my school language easier for students to understand, with examples that fit their current perspective.
But for now, "let's plan a 4-hour workshop, divided into four 1-hour sessions, where I will teach my fellow teachers or students who are becoming teachers how to apply this to their lesson planning". That's what I'm going to ask ChatGPT.
>ChatGPT output:
Open & Close me (ChatGPT output)
This will be a long one so I will only post the end result, but here are my prompts to get to what I want: >ChatGPT output:.....
>My followup question:
"now create per class a timetable for each subject and what the people will learn there and how I can check with a rubric if they learned what I designed to."
>ChatGPT output:.....
>My followup question:
"now create per class a timetable for each subject and what the people will learn there and how I can check with a rubric if they learned what I designed to."
>ChatGPT output:..... >My followup question: "now add a clear timetable for each class, from minute one to 60, so that other teachers also have a clear understanding of the timetable and content to give" >ChatGPT output:.....
>My followup question: "Now add a rubric to the timetable as a quality assurance check where teachers can see questions they can ask their students to see if they learned the new material" >ChatGPT output:..... >My followup question: "Develop this into a neatly, nicely organized Doxc file"
>ChatGPT output:.....
Now we can see that there aren't enough details here for someone new to give this workshop right away. However, with a few more prompts, you'll be able to gather the information needed to fine-tune the details and eventually deliver a masterclass on the topic.
This is especially useful when you already have some knowledge about it. The purpose of this example is to show that, whether you're reading your favorite book, teaching history, or exploring a science article, you can take something you find interesting and transform it into a lesson, or even a full school period. And yes, it’s possible! How epic is that?
What you learned in this post
AI in Teaching: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance lesson planning and teaching by analyzing content and generating creative outputs.
Practical Use: Turn articles or images into effective lessons, adapting them for student engagement and cognitive development.
Transforming Content: Take any material you love and turn it into a lesson, guiding students from basic to advanced learning.
Conclusion
The possibilities are endless when you start applying AI to teaching. Whether you’re reading a book, exploring a new article, or even analyzing images, you can turn any content into an engaging lesson. So, the next time you find yourself thinking, "Could this become a lesson?" the answer is YES! With the power of AI, you can craft lessons that go from simple to complex, while keeping your students engaged every step of the way. Pretty epic, right?
If you found this interesting or have any questions,
don’t hesitate to reach out! I’d love to help, contact me today!
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