Stress and The Teaching Profession: Harnessing AI Solutions in a Time of Need

John Kleeman, Executive Vice President of Learnosity, discusses how AI-powered tools can help address the challenges facing educators

Teaching has always been an incredibly rewarding yet demanding profession. 

Unfortunately, a recent study by the mental health charity Education Support found that professor wellbeing is at a five-year low, with rising levels of stress, insomnia, and burnout. The reasons are numerous – from classroom management responsibilities and lack of administrative support to low compensation and the need to work outside of school hours.

This level of stress isn’t just detrimental to the wellbeing of our professors but also impacts their ability to effectively teach and support their students. Many enter this vocation driven by a passion for making a positive difference in the world. It’s the same reason I decided to work in education technology and digital assessment – I wanted to leverage the power of computers to improve lives for professors and learners globally.

However, a recent survey of over 8,000 National Education Union members revealed that two in five professors describe their workload as “unmanageable.” As one professor put it, “One of the most time-consuming tasks is creating assessments and grading assignments.” It’s clear we need to provide them with tools and support to achieve a healthier work-life balance.

AI as a Solution

Fortunately, AI-powered solutions could be the answer. By automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, we can free up precious time to focus on what truly matters: meaningful student interactions and personalised instruction. With AI technology there is the potential to bridge the gap and change the way professors take on their day-to-day.  

Accelerating Assessment Creation

One example is Learnosity’s Author Aide tool, which allows users to generate new assessment content in any subject, at any level, and in multiple languages. This dramatically accelerates the test creation process to be 10 times faster than manual creation. It is powered by GPT-4, which allows for professors to use their own learning material so that content can be aligned with specific curricula, syllabuses, or standards.

Enhancing Feedback and Grading

AI tools can be a huge help throughout the learning process as well, especially when it comes to student feedback and assessment. One tool we’re currently developing, Feedback Aide, is designed to further lighten the load for educators.

It acts as an additional reader, providing an initial scoring pass on student essays before passing them to the professor for review. But it goes beyond just a score. The AI also generates specific feedback pointing out areas for improvement along with suggestions for elevating students’ writing.

The key thing is that professors remain fully in the driver’s seat. They can review the AI’s feedback, tweak it, add to it -really make it their own and tailor it to each individual student’s needs. It’s about blending technology and human expertise for a personalised experience that is much more challenging through traditional methods alone.

Instead of spending hours crafting customised feedback for every single essay, professors can leverage AI’s input as a starting point and guide. This frees up their time to focus on continuously adapting their lessons to the evolving needs of their students as a whole. With the goal to move away from rigid one-size-fits-all curriculums, the future hope is to be able to lean on AI to help develop adaptive learning journeys tailored to how each student learns best – their strengths, weaknesses, and personal styles.

Empowering, Not Replacing Professors

The goal of AI isn’t to replace professors but to empower them through smarter technology that handles those tedious tasks. 

Encouragingly, a survey from Canva found that professors aren’t afraid of AI. Quite the opposite – they’re optimistic about its potential to alleviate workloads and promote creativity in the classroom. In fact, the survey found 92% of professors who used AI found it helpful for increasing efficiency and decreasing burnout.

Instead of viewing AI as a threat, more and more educators see it as a powerful ally. They recognise that by automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, AI solutions can free them to focus on the human elements that teaching requires to be impactful. Things like mentorship and guidance, fostering creativity, facilitating conversations that encourage critical thinking and breathe life into topics through storytelling. The future of education is one where professors are augmented and supported by technology, not replaced by it.

Conclusion

As we navigate the intricate dance between AI and education, it is essential to prioritise the well-being and support of our professors. By harnessing the power of AI-powered tools, we can empower educators to strike a healthier balance, alleviating the burden of tedious tasks and allowing them to focus on what they do best: nurturing the minds of our future generations.

By John Kleeman, Executive Vice President of Learnosity