AI Current Awareness in Teaching and Research

AI in education with a critical, creativity-focused lens, tracing technological waves in teaching and the rise of generative AI (LLMs) as a potential catalyst for major change. It contrasts techno‑solutionist optimism with sociocritical caution, stresses ethical priorities (privacy, wellbeing, equity), and argues for human–AI co‑creativity—positioning AI as a collaborator that can expand creative pedagogies across K–12 and higher education. The chapter outlines the book’s structure (creative engagement, K–12 examples, higher‑ed advances), and calls for nuanced, ethically guided integration of AI to support learners’ unique talents rather than replace human judgment.

Meta‑analysis of 51 studies (Nov 2022–Feb 2025): ChatGPT yields large gains in learning performance (g=0.867) and moderate improvements in learning perception and higher‑order thinking (g≈0.46); effects are strongest in skills/STEM courses, problem‑based learning, and with 4–8 week use—recommend scaffolded, context‑sensitive, sustained integration.

Agentic AI—exemplified by ChatGPT Agent—is an AI that can act autonomously to perform multi‑step classroom and admin tasks (web scraping, file editing, running code, connecting to Drive/SharePoint). For educators it speeds prep (presentations, lesson plans, resource gathering, data cleaning, PD packs, tool scouting, literature reviews) and hands over editable outputs, but requires active monitoring, precise prompts, and limits on sensitive access to manage privacy, hallucinations, web blocks and formatting errors. Best practice: start small, supervise runs, verify outputs, provide clear scaffolds, and use Agents as flexible tutors/tools rather than fully unsupervised substitutes.