Blog Post #4

Part 1: Lesson Plan Created by Magic School AI 

The standard that I chose to use was from the Ohio Learning Standards for Algebra I:  “A.REI.6 Solve systems of linear equations algebraically and graphically” (Ohio Department of Education, 2017).  I would say that the lesson plan created by Magic School AI aligned with the standard.  The lesson plan provides space for solving systems of equations with all of the possible methods, as outlined in this standard.  I wouldn’t say that the lesson plan created was sufficiently rigorous.  The lesson plan really only provides for the student to practice skills without going past the simple solving of the equations.  I don’t think that the assessment of the lesson really fits with the objective or the procedure of the lesson.  The lesson seems to focus on just solving systems of equations while the assessment goes farther and has students creating and solving systems of equations word problems.  The assessment seems to go a step farther than the lesson.  If I were to improve this lesson, I would split this standard over multiple days and focus on one method at a time, then work on determining when to use each method.  Also, I would include time for students to work with each other and share how they solved a problem with their classmates.  I do like the idea of students creating their own problems but I would make it so that instead of a student solving their own problems, they would be traded so that their classmates can solve them and share feedback.

I don’t really think that this tool is useful to create rigorous lesson plans.  While I think that this tool could be helpful to get a starting point for creating lesson plans, I think that there needs to be more included for the lesson plans to be considered rigorous.  For example, instead of just assigned problems for independent practice, students could work together to solve problems and then create their own problems for other groups to solve.  They could also create a journal entry about what they learned and solve a system of equations step-by-step while explaining what they did for each step and why.  I think that with a little bit of tweaking, the lesson plans created by Magic School AI could become rigorous but the way that the lesson plan was given, it is not rigorous.

Lesson Plan: https://app.magicschool.ai/tools/lesson-plan-generator?share=343f5828-dfca-4a16-a61f-cdf11bd6e211

Part 2: Worksheet Generator Tool

I used the Worksheet Generator tool on Magic School AI.  This tool creates a worksheet given a prompt and grade level.  The worksheets that I created had questions that were fill-in-the blank, multiple choice, and open ended.  The worksheet also includes the answer key for the worksheet that it creates.  I do think that this tool would be useful in creating worksheets.  I liked that the worksheet included different types of problems, especially ones that are not necessarily seen on many math worksheets.  While I do think the tool is useful, there are some problems with the worksheets that are created.  For example, equations are not written in a way that is easy to see what is going on, especially when there are fractions or exponents involved.  Also, sometimes the equations that are asked do make sense.  For example, on an Exponent Rules worksheet one of the questions in the fill-in-the blank section was “The quotient of (a^m) and (a^n) is equal to (a) raised to the power of ____.”  The answer to the question was “subtract” which does not make sense in the context of this problem.  I do think that this tool would be useful in assessing the learning of my students.  If I were to use this tool in my classroom, I would either use it to create a worksheet when one is needed at the last minute or use it to help me create problems that I hadn’t thought of to include on an assessment that I am creating.

Part 3: Reflection

I do think that Magic School AI could be a useful tool in the classroom.  I may not use this tool on a daily basis but I could see myself using this tool when I need ideas on how to write a lesson or an assessment.  I don’t know that I would go around telling all of my coworkers to use this tool but I may say something to them if they are stuck on how a lesson should go.  I don’t think that this tool should be used every day in the classroom but I do think that the tool could be used to generate ideas and help with lesson planning and other classroom tasks.  I do see some problems with the tool.  Some of the problems that I see are with the way that mathematics is written out.  Also, if this tool is used I feel that everything needs to be double checked to make sure that it makes sense and fits what you want it too.  I also feel like we can’t just let AI do everything for us.  If we do, we lose the heart of being a teacher and the personal touch that we include when planning lessons and assessments.  This tool would be good for brainstorming ideas but I don’t think that it is good for everyday use in the classroom.

Reference

Ohio Department of Education. (2017). Ohio learning standards: mathematics. https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio/Mathematics/Ohio-s-Learning-Standards-in-Mathematics/MATH-Standards-2017.pdf.aspx