Chicago area high school using AI to help students become future teachers

CHICAGO (CBS) — Artificial intelligence is already changing the way teachers teach and students learn. One school in northwest suburban Buffalo Grove embraces AI in its curriculum.

The best teachers connect with students. At Buffalo Grove High School, teacher Tim Kosiek connects from the first day to the last.

The seniors in Kosiek’s education pathway class hope to be teachers themselves someday. This past semester, they learned how to handle a new tool: ChatGPT-4o.

“It’s a tool, but you need to learn how to use that tool,” Kosiek said.

All semester long, students like Andy Gonc experimented with an AI chatbot that can help them teach.

“I am using ChatGPT to create a 45-minute lesson plan,” Gonc said. “It spits out a whole lesson plan, with the different parts of a lesson.”

Lesson plans are just the start.

“I think it can be really useful when it comes to things, because it allows you to just quickly generate ideas,” Gonc said.

“It’s going to change everything,” Kosiek said.

Even if AI can teach, there’s something about a teacher you just can’t replace.

“AI can’t replace a relationship,” Kosiek said.

“Just being a teacher is creating relationships with the students,” Gonc said.

If a teacher can’t find the words, artificial intelligence can.

“Can you give me some parting words to inspire them as they’re going to be future teachers?” Kosiek asked ChatGPT on the last day of class for seniors.

“As you stand on the brink of a new chapter, remember that you began your high school journey in a unique way – remotely, adapting to challenges that no other generation of students has faced before you. This resilience and adaptability are the very qualities that will make you exceptional teachers,” ChatGPT said. “The world awaits your contributions, and I believe in your ability to make a difference. I hope this helps inspire them.”

It was a little AI assist to make one last connection.