AI in Geography Education: Enhancing Learning Through Innovative Technologies

1. Generative AI in Geography Education What is your experience of AI in teacher training? Chris Powell University of Hertfordshire Amy Dodd King's College London Subject Director of Geography Education Principal Lecturer in Education (Geography) (amy.dodd@kcl.ac.uk) (c.powell3@herts.ac.uk) https://www.menti.com/alhtbiii6 2mv Access Code: 1956 2368

2. AI in Education - Should we be using it? The government is advertising AI as a teachers’ potential ‘virtual assistant’ (Education hub blog, 2023) Inclusion of AI literacy and AI thinking in the school curriculum are in their early adoption phases in various countries. Poor belief state in the potential of AI amongst teachers (Vazhayil et al., 2019)

3. We already have AI in our education system … Students have turned to AI to aid their communication, thinking and learning and have been doing so for years: • Grammar and sentence correctors (e.g., Grammarly) • Translation tools (e.g., Google Translate) • Language Learning Tools (e.g., Duolingo • Answer Engines (e.g., Wolfram Alpha) • Reading aloud (e.g., naturalreaders.com) Some Teacher Education Programs have embedded AI-based digital clinical simulations and virtual reality training systems (e.g., Mursion) to help prepare future teachers for success in the classroom (Johnson-Leslie & Leslie, 2022; King et al., 2022).

4. ChatGPT • Over the past several years, technological advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to several significant developments in its widespread adoption and use. • ChatGPT, a chatbot launched in November 2022 by the company OpenAI, recently set the record for the fastest-growing consumer application in history, with an est. 100million users monthly a mere 4 months after it debuted (Hu, 2023). • Whilst the use of ChatGPT has captured the interests of students and teachers alike (not so much the latter), improper use of the technology is the cause for concern of everybody working in Education. In its “Educator Considerations for ChatGPT” documentation, OpenAI (n.d.) states that there are several education-related risks to using ChatGPT, including plagiarism, harmful and biased content, equity and access, the trustworthiness of the AI-generated content, and overreliance on the tool for assessment purposes. • Should Educators be modelling best practice for students by incorporating AI tools into classwork and curriculum? Should Educators be helping students develop a better understanding of this powerful new technology and leverage its use for productivity, comprehension and creativity, rather than shy away from it due to fear of the unknown?

5. Review of AI generated lesson plans Let’s review an example of a lesson plan generated by AI. On your table, annotate the plan to show the following: • Pros of student-teachers using AI • Cons of student-teachers using AI • Any subject errors/misconceptions – This could include the potential for if not checked correctly.

6. Creating vignettes of different stakeholders How else could we use AI in geography education? Creating model answers (good and bad) Gamification – Using AI to help you come up with a game to help teach a concept Using AI as a self-assessment tool (pupil submitting their answers to ChatGPT to get feedback on their answers) Subject knowledge support

7. Creating vignettes of different stakeholders • Prompt: You are the owner of a timber company. Explain why you feel deforestation is justified. • Response: “Rainforests take up a massive amount of land, but they don't produce much income for our country. We can harvest valuable wood to make furniture, medicine, and construction materials, creating jobs and boosting our economy. These rainforests might seem untouched, but some areas are already degraded. Selective logging allows us to take what we need while replanting and using sustainable practices. A healthy, managed forest can be more beneficial than a dense, untouched one that struggles to support itself.”

8. Creating model answers (good and bad) Prompt: Please answer the following exam question: "Explain one meteorological cause of drought.“ Here is the rubric from the mark scheme: Award 1 mark for a meteorological cause of drought and a further 2 marks for extension through explanation, up to a maximum of 3 marks. A reduction in rainfall can cause drought (1) because of changes in the global atmospheric circulation (1) where areas come under the influence of high pressure (1). Rainfall may be becoming less reliable (1) because of the impact of climate change (1) meaning that some regions are being more regularly affected by high pressure (1). The movement of jet streams (1) may lead to the more frequent establishment of blocking anticyclones (1) leading to lower rainfall (1). Keep your answer under 100 words. Response: One cause of drought is a shift in global atmospheric circulation. High-pressure systems can block rain-bearing weather systems, leading to less precipitation in a region.

9. Creating model answers (good and bad) Prompt: Prompt: Please now answer the question in a way that would only get two marks. Keep your answer under 100 words. Response: Response: Droughts occur due to a lack of rainfall over a long time. This can be caused by high- pressure systems.

10. Gamification – Using AI to help you come up with a game to help teach a concept Take a look at the example of a globalisation game that AI produced (and this logo!). What are your thoughts?

11. Using AI as a self-assessment tool (pupil submitting their answers to ChatGPT to get feedback on their answers) • Prompt: Please say how the writer could improve their answer. • Response: • Replace informal language ("super important," "stuff," "messes up") with more academic terms like "significant impact," "timber extraction," and "disrupts the ecological balance." • Avoid contractions ("don't") and slang ("yeah"). • Use Specific Examples: • Instead of saying "animals and plants," mention specific species native to deciduous woodlands that are affected by deforestation (e.g., red squirrels, badgers). • Give examples of pollutants impacting the ecosystem (e.g., acid rain, industrial waste).

12. Subject knowledge support • Prompt: Give a case study of rapid urbanisation in a low- income country. • Prompt: What is the difference between frost shattering and freeze-thaw weathering? • Prompt: Explain Milankovitch cycles in plain English.

13. To finish • What are the possibilities? • What are the risks?

14. Thank you!