AI? *sigh* I’m tired of thinking about it and here’s why
/By Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D.
Generative AI tools and concerns in education have been gaining momentum for years, but I’ve written about AI only once so far. Like many of you, I read articles about AI. I seek advice on course policies and tips for class assignments. I use AI occasionally for a variety of tasks (but not my newsletter!). I don’t hate AI. I’m just tired of thinking about it.
I recognize everyone has their own experiences and preferences when it comes to AI, and this week’s newsletter may or may not be for you. My goal for this personal reflection isn’t to persuade, but because many educators have asked me about AI, I’d like to share two things:
My current approach to genAI in my classroom
My recommendations for what to do if you’re tired, too
How are you feeling about AI in teaching, learning, and the classroom? Are you tired, too? Email me at ask@retrievalpractice.org with your thoughts.
P.S. Follow me on Instagram to stay up to date on my exciting new collab coming soon.
Letting it go
About 6 months ago, my school hosted a day-long faculty professional development event with a keynote speaker and breakout sessions. I avoided all the sessions on generative AI. I teach neuroscience and psychology at a music and arts school, so I went to a swing dancing lesson instead.
At the beginning of the dance lesson, my friends and I were surprised to run into each other, especially because there was a popular AI session running concurrently. We had hushed conversations in the corner, sheepishly asking “Why are you here?” It turned out that my friends were just as tired of thinking about and talking about AI as I was. Realizing we weren’t alone, we had a collective sigh of relief. We felt like kids ditching school, secretly smoking cigarettes behind the bleachers. We didn’t go to the AI session. We chose to dance.
But I also felt a little guilty. I write about teaching, I talk about teaching, I publish research on teaching, and I teach nearly two hundred students every school year. Shouldn’t I be at the AI session instead? Ultimately, I decided no.
Why? Let’s call it My Approach #1 to AI: Let the churn keep churning. The more AI continues to develop, the more we’ll have a better sense of how students are using it and what we can do about it. Essentially, I’m waiting it out. Initially, this approach felt lazy, apathetic, and irresponsible. Now, I’ve embraced letting go and I’m comfortable getting “second hand news” about genAI from my teacher friends. Ignorance isn’t always bliss, but it’s working for me. Plus, Approach #1 frees up my time and energy for the aspects of teaching I love, like prepping new lessons.
I don’t judge educators or anyone who uses AI, enjoys AI, and loves keeping up with everything about AI. A friend of mine loves AI and she uses it every day. She told me she basically became a bike mechanic with the help of Gemini. That’s cool! For me, my use of AI is kind of like my approach to drinking alcohol: I don’t judge anyone who drinks or doesn’t drink. I just make personal choices that work for me. I love a cold beer on a warm summer day and a fancy cocktail at a restaurant with friends.
Recommendation #1: If you’re exhausted about AI like I am, give yourself permission to let it go and take a step back. You’re not alone.
Students are tired
At the start of the spring semester, I polled my students about their thoughts on AI. 45% of my students were tired of talking about it; the rest were interested in a discussion about the bigger picture and implications for the world. (Only one student wanted to discuss course policies.)
To bring some lightness to the conversation—for students who are tired and also for those who want to know more—each semester I show this video of AI-generated gymnastics. We discuss why the video is hilarious and mesmerizing, which my students find to be a refreshing take on the AI conversations they have in other classes. Following a big picture discussion (specifically data bias and environmental impact, particularly in communities of color), we briefly cover course policies. In my classroom, students can use genAI, but they must let me know when they do. Yes, some of my students use ChatGPT or Gemini without telling me, and no, I don’t always notice it.
My Approach #2 to AI: I discuss with my students the valid reasons why they might want to use genAI (I remind them that I was a college student, too), along with tips on what to do instead:
Overwhelmed with other things on your plate? Skip my assignment. All of my homework assignments are low-stakes. Each is worth only 2% and I drop the lowest grades, so it won’t significantly affect their final course grade if they skip it. (I love the surprised looks on my students’ faces when I make this point.)
Short on time and/or forgot about the deadline? Partially complete the homework. It’s actually faster to type a few sentences than copying, pasting, and double checking a response from genAI (psst… students know about the em dash trick). My retrieval practice questions are pretty open ended, and I far prefer a partial answer than a long impersonal genAI response.
Worried about getting a good grade? Let’s meet on Zoom or come to my drop-in hours. We can have a quick 15-minute conversation that will save you time for the rest of the semester. If you’re struggling with the readings, need help with translation, etc., maybe there are ways to use genAI to support your learning rather than replacing your learning.
From my perspective, it’s not that students don’t want to think. They do. It’s just that students have a lot going on, they have competing priorities, and they need help managing it all. By acknowledging students’ reasons for using AI, Approach #2 frees up my time and energy to focus on student learning.
Recommendation #2: Stop blaming students for using AI. Like us, they’re exhausted, too. Acknowledge their valid reasons for wanting to use it (usually it’s a lack of time) and offer alternatives that save them time.
Teachers are tired, too
There’s so much out there about teaching and AI that I can barely keep up. Doom and gloom articles about students cheating, a growing stack of books for educators, webinars on what to do (and not do) in the classroom, etc. Frankly, some of this stuff feels opportunistic—with good intentions, but also with an urgency that doesn’t resonate with me.
Here are some recent experiences I’ve been reflecting on that further demonstrate that many of us are tired of thinking about and talking about genAI in teaching:
I recently gave a keynote for 2,000 educators in Arkansas (what an amazing experience!). During the Ask Me Anything portion, I received 77 questions. Out of 77 questions, only one of them was about AI.
Earlier this summer, I spent four amazing days on a “geek retreat” with my cognitive scientist-teacher friends (who are also contributing authors for our book Smart Teaching Stronger Learning) and we didn’t talk about AI at all. We didn’t have a rule against it; it just never came up.
My colleague (emotion researcher, SEL expert, and author) Sarah Rose Cavanagh and I contemplated writing a book about how we’re tired of AI, but that meant we had to read about AI, which made us even more tired. So, we’re shifting gears: Stay tuned for our non-AI collaboration coming soon!
Taken together, these experiences reinforce my hunch that many of us are tired of talking about genAI in education. I’m letting go, refocusing my time and energy on the joys of teaching, respecting my students’ choices, and making time to dance with friends.
