Chat-ting About My EdTech Philosophy

 Reflections

I've crafted pedagogical philosophies in my past academic life, but using AI to help me outline and brainstorm one was something I was not prepared for even though I ended up being pleasantly surprised by how helpful and insightful ChatGPT was in this endeavor. Turning to ChatGPT for guidance gave me a chance to reflect on my own beliefs, values, and goals for teaching while also evaluating the role of AI in this phase of the writing process. 

The Process

Going in, I had a general idea of what I needed to include with help from my aforementioned experience in addition to the rubrics and resources provided in the readings for the week. ChatGPT provided a structured approach and broke down elements such as:

1. The purpose of English education
2. The role of technology in student learning
3. Constructivist teaching practices, and
4. Student engagement and assessment strategies.

If I've had a lot of experience writing in a certain style with a certain purpose, my brainstorming and outlining processes are pretty streamlined and organized; however, seeing as I haven't written an educational philosophy since the end of my undergrad days in 2015, I was elated to see that ChatGPT was able to help me organize my scattered thoughts into clear sections and provide me with concepts and ideas to build upon. It also helped me address ideas and issues that I might have overlooked or forgotten about otherwise. 

For example, at first the suggestions were geared towards my current place in education as a 6th grade English teacher. I know that I want to ensure that my Educational Technology Philosophy includes the full scope of my teaching experience as well as my future aspirations about entering into the teaching force at the community college level before becoming a librarian. ChatGPT helped me see how my philosophy applies at different educational levels--middle school, high school, and community college. Chat also reinforced the importance of student surveys in refining my teaching practices--a goal I have had for many years but needed help implementing in a meaningful and effective way because of my own fears.

Even though ChatGPT was incredibly helpful in helping to generate ideas and organizing the content of my future Educational Technology Philosophy, it lacked the personal nuance and emotional depth that make a teaching philosophy truly unique to me and my personal experiences in the classroom or with my colleagues in the past 13 years of my education journey. That's something AI just can't replicate, and that's something I remind my students of often. In my final product, I will make sure that my own voice shines in order to create an authentic final product that means something to me. In the end, I think it worked well, but I also did not appreciate the fact that AI kept offering to write for me even though I kept deflecting and ignoring the suggestions.

Writing My EdTech Philosophy

Through my chat with AI, I solidified my core belief that technology shouldn't be the replacement for teaching but should instead add to and enhance student-centered learning. I, as an educator and as a person, am a natural caregiver as I feel most educators are to an extent, and though I want all of my students to succeed, they have to be able to do it on their own. Will I be their co-pilot in this journey? Absolutely. Can technology help them along the way? 100%. At the end of the day, they have to be able to use the tools in their arsenal to forge their own path to whatever their definition of success is.

As a constructivist educator, I see technology as a tool for inquiry, collaboration, and creativity rather than a mere mechanism for delivery of the content. I learned that through my follow-up questions and my more pointed inquiries with ChatGPT, my philosophy emphasizes critical literacy, student agency, and scaffolded support. I want to help my students analyze and create utilizing multiple digital platforms, encourage choice and voice, and guide students through problem-solving with digital tools. 

Additionally, I realized that my philosophy will have to be adaptable. I am going to have to be open to change and take chances with technology in the future as I make my way towards teaching at the community college level before becoming a librarian. Being able to integrate the edtech skills that I have acquired in my teaching and through courses like this one will allow me to be a better librarian and conduit of technology and knowledge to future learners. This realization lends itself to my core goal as a teacher and future librarian. I desire to:

• Create lifelong critical thinking,
• Encourage digital literacy and responsible and ethical use of technology,
• Help my students develop confidence in their voice, discussions, and through digital platforms, and
• Continue to grow and prosper as a professional by being open-minded when it comes to trying out new edtech tools and best practices.

Helpful or Not?

Overall, using ChatGPT for this task was more helpful than I'd like to admit when it comes to brainstorming my educational technology philosophy and organizing my thoughts and ideas. It helped me think of ways to organically integrate ideas that I had already considered but struggled with; however, I found that the responses generated by AI (and I think I am safely assuming that this would be a similar case for other chatbots) lacked personality and voice. They needed personalization to adequately represent my beliefs in the realm of edtech as it relates to my teaching philosophy. 

Would I use ChatGPT or another AI system for this again? I probably would but with a very specific intent and a critical lens. It's a great tool for drafting and organizing ideas, but the final product should be with my own unique phrasing and -isms that make me, me. AI just can't do that in an authentic way...yet...

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