Defend Your Learning: An AI-Compatible Practice For Any Class
A few weeks ago I wrote about the 11-Minute Essay: An AI-Compatible Practice. In this article, I argued that we should be looking towards compatible practices with AI instead of AI-resistant practices.
Both may be used (i.e. pencil and paper), but utilizing AI-compatible practices will dictate how much of our learning is structured now and in the future.
Since then I've worked with many schools on developing these practices for a variety of grade levels and subject areas.
My favorite AI-compatible practice that works in almost any classroom is "Defend Your Learning".
Here's how it works.
Defend Your Learning
As a new teacher, I was told time and time again not to give in to students who argued about grades. I was told they were complainers and would never be happy. Yet after almost every assessment I had questions from students about their grades. At first, I took this personally, acting as if a student asking about a test question was an attack on my professional abilities. I look back embarrassed about how I handled these situations.
I used to treat tests and assessments as sacred documents that should never be questioned. My mindset changed during a grad school class in which our professor conferenced with each student about our grades. He told us to come prepared to defend how we were assessed. I was confused…but also happy to have a discussion about what I understood and where I could have done better throughout the class.
To me, we can treat assessments and grades in two different ways:
Grades are payment for work performed, much like a salary.
Grades are a reflection of how well a student demonstrates their ability/understanding, much like playing time on an athletic team.
If you treat grades like a salary, shouldn’t students be able to argue and fight for a better salary if they can prove they deserve it?
If you treat grades like playing time, shouldn’t students have a chance to show their ability beyond one practice/game?
Now, with Artificial Intelligence tools that can be used for good (and bad). We need a way to go beyond just assessing a final product and moving on.
Defend Your Learning In Two Ways
Let's say students are doing science or math homework. They have questions to answer and should explain or show their work.
Maybe it's a Lab Report or a few Word Problems. In either case, we typically would hand these to the teacher, who would grade the final product, turn it back to the students, and move on to the next assignment or activity.
This isn't just how my classroom works. It's how most classrooms work, and many curricula and scope/sequences are built on this premise.
Now that artificial intelligence tools exist to help students master these types of assignments in no time, it can become difficult for a teacher to really understand whether or not the students have a solid understanding, or if they are using AI tools to assist.
Here's where we can use "Defend Your Learning".
#1: Defend Your Learning via Screencasting (Loom)
This is my favorite way to use this strategy. During the assignment or homework, students will use Loom (or any other screencasting tool) to record their work and explain/defend their steps, answers, and thinking.
In 2020, Loom introduced an Education plan that is free to all verified teachers and students at K-12 schools, universities, or educational institutions who are using Loom for classroom work.
Loom is free screencasting software with many benefits (this article by Kathleen Morris is a great starting point):
The Pro version is free for teachers and students
It’s easy to use and intuitive. Almost no learning curve!
There are no watermarks
You can record in HD
You can password protect videos or make them available only for certain email addresses
There are no age restrictions (I contacted Loom to clarify this)
You can use Loom on your computer and there is also an app for iOS
You can make an unlimited number of 45 minutes videos (on the free education account)
There are three options to record: just your face, just your screen, or both
There are multiple sharing/saving options — you can give someone the URL of your video to view instantly or you can download your video (MP4) and add it to YouTube, Google Drive etc
You can embed videos on your blog or website
You can trim your clip, so you don’t have to start over if you make a mistake
Others can comment on your video or respond with emojis
The benefit of this strategy is that we get to see and hear what the students are thinking and their process.
It is also AI-Compatible because the explanation and defense are done by the actual students in their voice.
Better yet, when students share their defense with their peers they can get comments, emoji responses, and feedback right inside the Loom video that is sent to their email.
Teachers can comment as well, or respond with a video of their own as a follow-up!
#2: Defend Your Learning via Draftback (Chrome Extension)
For longer writing assignments, you can still use Loom and put the playback on a higher 5x speed. However, there is a great Chrome Extension called Draftback that does this for you.
Whether it is a response, essay, or research paper--students can use AI tools to do a lot of this work.
Maybe you are doing a Green or Yellow assignment, or it could be a Red assignment where no AI should be used.
In any case, Draftback can show the entire writing process. Or you can use other tools like Snorkl, Figma, etc that do the same thing!
Let's not stop there, we still need the students to Defend Their Learning.
We would use the same process we described above with video. Or if you want to add more writing, students can write a defense that is a personal explanation of their process.
I personally like to hear the voice and explanations via Loom, but you can do this in a way that works for your classroom.
But What If...
What if kids don't want to be on camera? They don't have to be on camera with Loom, they can just use their voice and screencast (only putting their face on if they want to).
What if kids use AI to help with their defense? This could happen, but it is why we want to make sure the defense is both personal and ties the steps/evidence to their work (which AI still struggles a bit to do).
AI-Compatible Assignments
As we continue to dive deep into what it looks like to teach in a world filled with generative AI, new compatible practices, strategies, and structures are popping up all the time.
I share these as much as I can in resources, Twitter (X), and in the newsletter with our community.
We are discussing these tools and practices inside the Learning With AI Tools community as well!
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