AI Belongs in the Classroom: A Tale of Two Teachers

While some schools in Hawaii and around the world scramble to keep artificial intelligence off campus, a pair of local educators is all-in on AI in education.

My latest Star-Advertiser column explored ways artificial intelligence can empower teachers even as it disrupts education. The following is the full Q&A with two high school teachers who are experimenting and building solutions for their peers.

AI is commonly positioned as a way for students to cheat on essays and thus a technology that should be banned from use by students. What's your take on this response?

Gabriel Yanagihara (‘Iolani School): The popular notion that AI merely serves as a tool for students to cheat on essays is a narrow reactionary view of its capabilities. And like with any new technology, whether it be graphing calculators or Wikipedia, there will be growing pains as we adapt and learn to integrate it into our teaching toolkit.

Education should not only be about memorizing facts or mechanically producing essays based on knowledge recently recited, but should transition to what you do with that knowledge to affect the world around you. Whether you got it from Google, Wikipedia, a book or AI, it’s [about] the agency you have as a student to use that knowledge to produce something new.

I feel AI really brings us the post-information-scarcity age that the internet had previously promised us. Now—as it’s always been—is the battle teachers have in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. To those ends, I see AI as a complement to traditional teaching methods, not a replacement. It offers a unique opportunity for students to engage with material in new ways, including personalized learning experiences and exploring complex concepts through simulation and modeling.

Banning AI ignores its potential to enhance these aspects of education. Instead, we [should] advocate for informed, responsible use, where students learn the ethical implications of technology alongside its practical applications.

To mirror what is more practically useful in the workforce, you can use AI to generate several starting drafts, which to date are maybe C-grade papers, and your job as a student is to turn that paper into an A paper. Or I, as a teacher, can use AI to generate 25 unique AI written papers and give one to each student, and they each have to write a counter paper against it. It opens a whole new world of what is within the realm of possibility in the classroom.

Sam Anderson-Moxley (West Hawaii Explorations Academy Public Charter School and creator of Roborubrics): Generative AI is a disruptive technology. It is an innovation that is… already having dramatic impacts on our everyday lives. Because this technology is disruptive to the status quo, I am not surprised that so many teachers and educational institutions have banned its use. However, I think by banning this tool, we are putting out students at a big disadvantage.

Our students are going to grow up in a world where AI tools are more and more prevalent. As educators, it's our responsibility to learn how to use this technology to best prepare our students for the future that they will grow up in. I think there are a lot of similarities between people’s reactions to large language models and the way that calculators were viewed in education not that long ago. I remember in elementary school my teachers telling me something akin to, “You won’t always have a calculator in your pocket!” and their use being banned on tests. Now, we know they were wrong.

Today, nearly everyone has a supercomputer with access to the entire world's knowledge in their pocket at all times. I definitely would not trust an accountant or a civil engineer who does not use a calculator.

We figured out how to teach math in a world with calculators. We are going to figure out how to teach all subjects better with AI and large language models. Moreover, this technology, if embraced by educators and educational institutions, could decrease the achievement gap between rich and poor students.

Roborubrics and other AI technology give students and teachers access to experts in a multitude of fields. For example, a student studying for an AP English exam might have to spend $50 an hour for a tutor now, but with Roborubrics and other AI technologies, they can access expert educational feedback any time at a small fraction of the cost.

What support, if any, have your respective employers and educational institutions given for your work with AI? What has the school administration or curriculum development team provided you in terms of support or guardrails as to how to make use of AI in your work as an educator there?

Gabriel Yanagihara: Yes, my journey with 'Iolani started with innovative emerging technologies. My personal philosophy is to move fast, dive deep and really skip past the headlines and see what new technologies are actually like with my students. Back when VR first launched, I took to Reddit and was able to get an Oculus DK1 for my students to experiment with and develop small Unity3D apps for. Students love when I can give them supported access to new technologies with the framework of, “No adults know what this means yet, but let’s figure it out.” The same journey has been embarked on so many times now, it feels routine. And our school's administration has been supportive all the way, giving us permission to explore, experiment, and trust in our teacher’s professional expertise to adapt and assess new technologies.

One journey was Esports, where students pitched our admin and put together a plan and then built an Esports Arena and developed an Esports academic leadership curriculum which grew our Esports community to over 300 students.

The administration and curriculum development team at 'Iolani have been incredibly supportive, providing both the freedom to explore how AI can be integrated into our curriculum and soliciting ongoing discussions and policy planning with our faculty about setting clear guardrails to ensure its responsible use. This balanced approach has allowed us to use AI as a tool to enhance teaching and learning experiences, from creating more engaging classroom interactions to developing projects that solve real-world problems.

The support extends beyond just permission; it includes professional development opportunities to stay abreast of technological advancements and pedagogical strategies to integrate them effectively. And goes even beyond our campus with sharing our resources with all other schools where I have done training for over 300 teachers in AI applications and use cases for the classroom for free.

Sam Anderson-Moxley: The support from WHEA has been exceptional, from both teachers and administration. Very shortly after releasing Roborubrics, the administration reached out to me to see if this was something that they could get for all teachers. Principal Joseph Greenberg has expressed pride in the fact that such an innovative tool was developed by a WHEA teacher and was enthusiastic about getting all teachers access to the tool that wanted it.

Often, students become much more savvy with new tech than the teachers who are expected to guide them on their use. Is this what you're seeing with AI? Are your students taking AI and running with it? Do you see any concerns or hesitation with the next generation?

Gabriel Yanagihara: Indeed, students often adapt to new technologies quicker than adults, and AI is no exception. But as with all students during all previous waves of new technology, the level of engagement is as varied and unique as our students, with some hesitantly cautious of its use, to others fully embracing it as their coding partner as they set out to see their projects come to fruition.

While there's excitement in seeing students embrace AI, it comes with the responsibility to guide them in understanding its implications fully. This includes discussing the fact that society at large is still wrestling with these concepts themselves, and it’ll be our responsibility as early adopters to share the lessons we learned with the world. The goal is to foster a generation that is not only technologically proficient but also ethically conscious as these tools are massive force multipliers for both good and hard, depending on the wielder.

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Where have I been? Obsessing over AI, of course! I’m the Emerging Tech Editor at Decrypt, where we cover AI. I also launched a Hawaii AI Blog. Check them out!

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Sam Anderson-Moxley: True, students pick up new technology quickly, and it is important to mention that Roborubrics will soon launch a student-facing version. However, right now, a student could use Roborubrics as is and get great feedback to improve their writing.

When I first started developing this tool I asked students what they would want in an AI app that gave feedback on their assignments. The resounding theme was students wanted teachers to be in control. Students trust their teachers. By making Roborubrics teacher facing, it combines the social element of a trusted teacher-student relationship with the speed and expertise of AI. I think the fact that Roborubrics keeps teachers in the driver's seat is a huge advantage.

When Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in 1997, soon after, players found that a human-AI team was stronger than any human or AI alone. Similarly, with Roborubrics, I foresee a future where teachers and AI work together to achieve the best possible outcome for students. I think that in the coming years we will find that students who have teachers who use AI to assist them will outperform students with just AI tutors or human teachers alone.

Where do you see AI being the most helpful for educators, rather than students? What should a tech-forward, curious teacher try with AI to get the best idea of its capabilities for their work?

Gabriel Yanagihara: For educators, AI's potential extends beyond our classroom and affects the very fabric of society at large. So we are along for the ride with every other business, industry, and culture.

For those looking to explore AI and its effects on education and teaching, I would tell them to regress themselves. Become the student again and teach yourself something you’ve never thought to learn, with AI as your guide. The best teacher is experience, and I learned more about AI and its strengths and limitations by diving right in.

Open up Claude, chatGPT, Gemini, or any other AI chatbot and tell it, “I’ve always wanted to write a book about _____. Can you give me a draft table of contents for what that book might be about?” Experimenting with these applications can offer a glimpse into AI's broader potential to enrich the educational experience.

Sam Anderson-Moxley: The problem: right now teachers are overworked and underpaid. Teachers typically work an average of 53 hours a week and they don't qualify for overtime (NEA, Education Week). Hawaii is ranked dead last in the nation as the worst teacher-friendly state with the lowest teacher salary (HSTA). Hawaii has an extreme teacher shortage and a high turnover rate (NEA , Civil Beat). Teacher shortages and high turnover are also prevalent across the nation (Chalkbeat).

My goal with Roborubrics was to help make teachers' lives easier, while also providing better education for our students. Right now, teachers have many time consuming repetitive tasks, grading and giving feedback being maybe the most dreaded of all. As teachers, we know that high-quality feedback is absolutely essential for students to learn. But, most secondary teachers work with 125 to 150 students per day, and if a teacher has 120 students, taking just five minuntes per assignment to give feedback means 10 extra hours of work per week. Students and teachers deserve better.

Now, with Roborubrics, a teacher can give exceptionally high-quality feedback in seconds. Moreover, Roborubrics can ensure consistent and unbiased feedback because it will never get tired, hungry, or have a tough day. A tech-forward, curious teacher should not be afraid to play with AI. Roborubrics, like any new technology, takes some time to master.

The best way to learn is to play with the tool, experiment, and have fun with it. Roborubrics is a great start for teachers, even if they don’t have experience with AI. I am sure that educators will figure out new and exciting ways to use this tool that I have not even imagined. What a teacher can achieve with Roborubrics is only limited by their own creativity and imagination.

My opinion: If anyone should be playing with AI, it’s teachers. Teachers are not concerned with making their shareholders happy and hitting profits, they care about educating our youth so that they can grow into responsible citizens of the future. The more teachers that we have working with AI, the more likely we as a society can build ethical and responsible AI for everyone.

What are your personal interests in AI, things you do independent of your work in education?

Gabriel Yanagihara: My journey with AI and emerging technologies extends far beyond my role as a teacher at 'Iolani. As a concept artist and digital painter prior to teaching, I've always been captivated by the creative potential that new technologies offer. The advent of AI in art creation has been particularly thrilling and terrifying for me; it's a space where technology meets creativity, producing outcomes that are both unexpected and deeply compelling. Both garnering such emotional responses and discourse that I just have to explore it to its fullest.

Over the years, I've amassed a myriad of project ideas that remained unrealized due to resource constraints. Now, with AI tools at my disposal, I feel empowered to pursue these dreams more ambitiously than ever before. In this first year alone, I was able to complete several projects that I had previously estimated would have taken 3-4 years and tens of thousands of dollars.

This personal exploration doesn't just feed my curiosity; it significantly enriches my teaching, allowing me to introduce fresh perspectives and innovative applications into the classroom. Experiences that I think all teachers should have, as once we start teaching, it takes up so much of our time that we sometimes struggle to keep growing as individuals.

Hawaii holds a unique position where AI can transcend our geographical challenges and propel us into a position of global competitiveness. From tourism and agriculture to renewable energy and creative media, AI presents us with a chance to pioneer solutions that are both innovative and aligned with sustainable practices that were previously impossible.

I'm also on a broader mission to share this exploration with the wider community in Hawaii through workshops and public dialogues. These sessions aren't just educational; they're designed to spark conversations on how AI can serve as a catalyst for innovation across our state's diverse sectors. Hosting these workshops, I aim to demystify AI for a broad audience, including educators, creatives, and business leaders, showcasing practical AI tools and strategies to foster growth and efficiency.

No monster is scary once you know and understand it fully, so the first step to conquering this technological bohemian is to talk to it.

Sam Anderson-Moxley: This project has been very time-consuming indeed! Outside of Roborubrics and teaching, I am captivated by the idea to use AI in experimental aviation. I am an avid cyclist, and what really captures my imagination is breaking the record for human-powered flight, set by MIT’s Daedalus project in 1988. Over summer break, I will be developing machine learning programs that can design novel airfoils and ultralight aircraft designs, with the ultimate goal of fabricating these designs and attempting to break the human-powered flight record.

About the AI educators:

Born and raised in Maui, Gabriel Yanagihara is a skilled educator with expertise in AI, computer science, creative media, and video game design. He currently teaches at Iolani School, where his focus includes AI, game design, 3D printing, and fabrication. Gabriel also serves as the Head Coach for the school's Esports program.

Sam Anderson-Moxley is a middle school teacher at West Hawaii Explorations Academy and creator of Roborubrics, a user-friendly Google Docs add-on. Roborubrics empowers teachers to utilize AI for delivering high-quality, efficient, and personalized feedback to their students with ease. Listen to an interview with Anderson-Moxley on Hawaii Public Radio!