(1) There are three titles on this thing. The one in the URL—"Salman Khan: How AI Can Transform Education." The one in the tab title—"Salman Khan dreams of an AI education revolution." And then the print title: "Salman Khan’s third attempt to change the world of education." I suspect Khan is done with the British press for a little while.
(2) "But 10 years ago no one was really questioning the traditional lecture model, and no one was really talking about a lot of these gaps that students have in their learning." This is something you say when you are completely ignorant of the field you are trying to colonize & disrupt.
(3) “I met an English teacher in the US who told me she has 180 papers to grade on some weekends. That’s too much work. No matter how invested you are, if you’re reading 180 papers, it’s very hard to grade the 179th paper with the same fidelity that you grade the second paper." He has mentioned this teacher in every interview I have seen or read for the last twelve months. I DO think she's representative of broader challenges faced by our lit & comp colleagues. But at what point should we expect to see AI pay off in real quality of life improvements here? Are we waiting for a new language model? Another boilerplate guidance document from a state or university?
(4) "Now, however, a class of 30 students could 'break out' into five groups, each around an 'Alexa-type device' formatted with AI that facilitates discussion." I'm sorry but if you think AI is capable of this kind of facilitation, you do not understand the technology. And I am again sorry but if you think this kind of interaction (groups of SIX, to start with) would work in a K-12 classroom, you need to venture beyond your $30,000 / year lab private school. You don't understand the work.
It's interesting that Khan is no backpedaling from his own book, released three months ago, which makes sense since he clearly drafted in while feeling stunned by the novelty of ChatGPT, thanks to his insider access. It's why it reads like an infomercial. As an exploration of how teaching could or should interact with tech, it's totally unserious. I've long felt that the way Khan talks about education suggests that he knows and understands very little about teaching - which is not the same as tutoring. I assume he's well-meaning, and I'm all for running experiments with Khanmigo to help us better understand more about teaching and learning, but this "revolution" talk is dangerous, IMO.
> I've long felt that the way Khan talks about education suggests that he knows and understands very little about teaching - which is not the same as tutoring.
Right. Teaching a class of 30 isn't the same as copying & pasting a 1:1 tutoring relationship 30 times.
It's a repeating cycle except he never perceives the repetition. No, this time it will REALLY be a revolution, I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME!!!
Lots of folks with saviour complexes are well meaning. Just imagine, though, if the millions given to him had been put towards folks who knew how to teach math?
"10 years ago no one was really questioning the lecture model"
This quote from the article just show how little Khan knows about the history of mathematics teaching much less current or recent past research on this. Japan has been doing the kind of "active" teaching that Khan calls for since A Nation at Risk. I just came back from a 6 week course in Hungary learning about the way that math is taught at math camps and in many classrooms. It is frustrating to have someone who hasn't bothered to learn about the history of mathematics teaching speak as if he's an expert.
Dan, I understand your frustration with Ed Tech. I have used Desmos and Amplify and deeply appreciate all that you are trying to do there. ( Do you feel a but coming?). But you are brutal to Sal Khan. If you’ve tried reaching out to him to collaborate, and he has refused, that is sad. If you haven’t reached out, that is sadder. Teachers need help knowing how to share and use resources for all types of learners. You and Sal have powerful voices. What might you do together to help all educators.
Hi Terri, thanks for your comment. You aren't the only person to think I'm too hard on Khan. I understand that position.
My position is that Sal Khan is the most vocal and highest profile representative of a school of thought in edtech that (1) teaching is merely the distribution of information (2) math is merely the performance of correct operations (3) students are merely small, malfunctioning adults.
Students, teaching, math, and their relationship are sacred to me and he profanes them with his work. That's where I'm coming from, where I'm always going to come from.
"Students, teaching, math, and their relationship are sacred to me and he profanes them with his work."
Wow. (I think) I've seen you move from talking about Khan initially as a naïf, then as being almost willfully ignorant, to now as his being malevolent. That pot took a long time to come to a boil. (My observation of my perception of your evolution should not be taken as criticism.)
Let's start with the premise that the purpose of learning math is to get through the public school system.
WHat does that even mean?
The entire task is *defined* by that.
ON the other hand, if the purpose of learning the math is to understand it and be able to figure out whatever weird stuff the school system throws you, then you have power :P
Bonus content (petty stuff) for the comments:
(1) There are three titles on this thing. The one in the URL—"Salman Khan: How AI Can Transform Education." The one in the tab title—"Salman Khan dreams of an AI education revolution." And then the print title: "Salman Khan’s third attempt to change the world of education." I suspect Khan is done with the British press for a little while.
(2) "But 10 years ago no one was really questioning the traditional lecture model, and no one was really talking about a lot of these gaps that students have in their learning." This is something you say when you are completely ignorant of the field you are trying to colonize & disrupt.
(3) “I met an English teacher in the US who told me she has 180 papers to grade on some weekends. That’s too much work. No matter how invested you are, if you’re reading 180 papers, it’s very hard to grade the 179th paper with the same fidelity that you grade the second paper." He has mentioned this teacher in every interview I have seen or read for the last twelve months. I DO think she's representative of broader challenges faced by our lit & comp colleagues. But at what point should we expect to see AI pay off in real quality of life improvements here? Are we waiting for a new language model? Another boilerplate guidance document from a state or university?
(4) "Now, however, a class of 30 students could 'break out' into five groups, each around an 'Alexa-type device' formatted with AI that facilitates discussion." I'm sorry but if you think AI is capable of this kind of facilitation, you do not understand the technology. And I am again sorry but if you think this kind of interaction (groups of SIX, to start with) would work in a K-12 classroom, you need to venture beyond your $30,000 / year lab private school. You don't understand the work.
I came for the searing main essay, I stayed for the embers of fury in the comments section.
It's interesting that Khan is no backpedaling from his own book, released three months ago, which makes sense since he clearly drafted in while feeling stunned by the novelty of ChatGPT, thanks to his insider access. It's why it reads like an infomercial. As an exploration of how teaching could or should interact with tech, it's totally unserious. I've long felt that the way Khan talks about education suggests that he knows and understands very little about teaching - which is not the same as tutoring. I assume he's well-meaning, and I'm all for running experiments with Khanmigo to help us better understand more about teaching and learning, but this "revolution" talk is dangerous, IMO.
> I've long felt that the way Khan talks about education suggests that he knows and understands very little about teaching - which is not the same as tutoring.
Right. Teaching a class of 30 isn't the same as copying & pasting a 1:1 tutoring relationship 30 times.
It's a repeating cycle except he never perceives the repetition. No, this time it will REALLY be a revolution, I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME!!!
Lots of folks with saviour complexes are well meaning. Just imagine, though, if the millions given to him had been put towards folks who knew how to teach math?
"10 years ago no one was really questioning the lecture model"
This quote from the article just show how little Khan knows about the history of mathematics teaching much less current or recent past research on this. Japan has been doing the kind of "active" teaching that Khan calls for since A Nation at Risk. I just came back from a 6 week course in Hungary learning about the way that math is taught at math camps and in many classrooms. It is frustrating to have someone who hasn't bothered to learn about the history of mathematics teaching speak as if he's an expert.
Me, when I don't do the reading and show up late to the discussion section.
"nobody has ever thought about this before I did!!"
And they can't even do a basic search to discover that's wrong.
Dan, I understand your frustration with Ed Tech. I have used Desmos and Amplify and deeply appreciate all that you are trying to do there. ( Do you feel a but coming?). But you are brutal to Sal Khan. If you’ve tried reaching out to him to collaborate, and he has refused, that is sad. If you haven’t reached out, that is sadder. Teachers need help knowing how to share and use resources for all types of learners. You and Sal have powerful voices. What might you do together to help all educators.
Hi Terri, thanks for your comment. You aren't the only person to think I'm too hard on Khan. I understand that position.
My position is that Sal Khan is the most vocal and highest profile representative of a school of thought in edtech that (1) teaching is merely the distribution of information (2) math is merely the performance of correct operations (3) students are merely small, malfunctioning adults.
Students, teaching, math, and their relationship are sacred to me and he profanes them with his work. That's where I'm coming from, where I'm always going to come from.
"Students, teaching, math, and their relationship are sacred to me and he profanes them with his work."
Wow. (I think) I've seen you move from talking about Khan initially as a naïf, then as being almost willfully ignorant, to now as his being malevolent. That pot took a long time to come to a boil. (My observation of my perception of your evolution should not be taken as criticism.)
My opinion of Khan is largely unchanged. It's my reverence for the work of teaching that's changed considerably.
Let's start with the premise that the purpose of learning math is to get through the public school system.
WHat does that even mean?
The entire task is *defined* by that.
ON the other hand, if the purpose of learning the math is to understand it and be able to figure out whatever weird stuff the school system throws you, then you have power :P
It's strange to suggest that its not a person's life work if a man has already spent 14 years on a problem, or am I missing something?
I brought some receipt on the same topic.
Worksheet generators, tongue twisters, and Target gift cards are hardly the making of a revolution.
https://open.substack.com/pub/verenabryan/p/ai-in-education?r=a6rh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
👏👏👏