I recently spoke with one of the founders of an ed tech company and it was immediately apparent that this person is genuinely interested in helping teachers. He is connecting with as many teachers as he can to find out what their needs are, and I suggested that there could be more help in the area of gifted education. While I know that there are already several programs out there that offer differentiation as an option for lesson plans, I feel that the suggestions generated are often more suitable for struggling students rather than advanced ones. Although I was in the classroom a long time, I’m not anymore, and I’d love to hear from you. What might be some AI tools that would make your job more efficient, innovative, and/or exciting when it comes to teaching gifted students?
What Are You Using That’s Working?
Are there AI tools that you already use that help you to differentiate or plan for gifted students? Share them in the comments so other teachers can try them out. Do you use a free plan or think it’s worth it to pay for more features? How do you think AI has made a difference in how or what you teach? Does your district block your favorite tool so that you have to use it at home, or provide access to all teachers?
What Feature Would You Love to Use?
For example, would it help to have a quality chatbot that helps you to plan Genius Hour/Passion Time/20%Time, or one that generates words, images, ideas for Hexagonal Thinking? Would you like to have a tool that gives recommendations for Depth and Complexity in your lesson plans?
I’d Love Your Feedback!
If you teach gifted students, let me know what you think in the comments below, even if you prefer to never use AI at all. Your opinions are valuable to me as I try to continue to support teachers.
Dear Terri,
I am no longer teaching full time but I had to respond to your question. I never had the opportunity to use AI materials in my gifted classroom. But over and over and over again, for the 20 years I had a g/t classroom, you were my favorite and best resource. Thanks so much. I loved teaching with you!
KParker
Thanks so much for your twenty years of service and those kind words, KParker! I hope you are enjoying your new adventures!
I love AI and am using it more often than I thought! My biggest use out of it comes from wanting to explore subjects that the kids I teach don’t normally have access to. For example, my fifth graders are working with linguistics. There is absolutely nothing out there for their reading level, but if I use AI to adapt an article or textbook chapter, that content instantly becomes accessible. That’s just one for me…
That is very helpful to know. I remember having this exact problem when I was in the classroom. Being able to change the lexile level of readings is such a game changer!
A lot of schools are moving to the PLC model. Teachers often struggle with question 4 – what to do with students who are already proficient in a standard. My district is creating learning ladders for priority standards. Using AI to come up with quality extensions for a given standard would be a very useful AI tool.
I appreciate this comment as it’s something I hadn’t considered. Great suggestion!
I love AI in the classroom. I just recently used ChatGPT to help my students come up with their Genius Hour projects. It was amazing. What would normally take me a few days to get through, we were able to do it in about 1 hour. The kids loved the ideas and were able to “hit the ground running” with their research. The only roadblock right now is that students do not have access to AI tools. I have mixed feelings about this. I think AI can be powerful if taught to be used for powerful thinking, not so that they don’t have to do any thinking. I know one day, there will be a compromise.
I agree with you that students will need access to AI, but I can definitely see that there are ethical issues at the moment as most tools are new and do not have safeguards. At the rate things are changing, I’m guessing there will be more available that are suited for younger students in the next few years. Thanks for your comment!
The article explores AI’s potential in gifted education, inviting educators to share ideas on tools that support differentiation and creativity.