Trends in Adult Education

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Trends in Adult Education

From looking at globalization, information society (internet, research), informal learning (ex. Youtube, Linked In, Google, workshops, museums, parks), demographics of where the learners are, and technology (Merriam & Bierema, 2014), you may notice that adult education has been changing drastically, and even more so right now. There's a trend towards online learning, use of AI, hybrid approach, flipped classroom, MOOCs, collaborative learning, self-directed learning, experiential learning and UDL. AI are replacing jobs. How do we provide the education to train adults to use AI?  This blog post will first look into AI literacy.

Taking a look at AI literacy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) use is on the rise in many aspects of our lives, be it in education, marketing, healthcare, banking, or call centers. How do we define AI literacy and how can it be used?

Laupichler et al. (2022) provided a critical review of some articles on AI literacy. Their preliminary review highlighted two types of publications on AI. One type helps identify “best practices” and help teachers gather ideas for AI teaching. The other is more theoretical, which is also important in order to understanding AI literacy and make references in different fields. However, they noticed that there is a lack of research analysis on target groups, which is important to point out differences in education projects across groups. As a result, they seek to conduct their research on the target group of adult learners. A rationale for choosing this target group is because they would be influenced by AI both in their daily life and professional life. Adults might be left behind if they fail to collaborate with AI.

Defining AI literacy

Long and Magerko (2020, p. 2, found in Laupichler et al., 2022) define AI literacy as “a set of competencies that enables individuals to critically evaluate AI technologies, communicate and collaborate effectively with AI, and use AI as a tool online, at home, and in the workplace”. 

Examples of AI learning

From K-12 (ex. https://ai4k12.org/) to adult learning, courses are being developed to share with us trends in AI, evaluating its outcomes or how it could affect our work. For example, check out these websites for adult learners:

•  https://www.elementsofai.com/ (If you look at the Course Outline, you would have an idea how AI is being taught)
• https://ki-campus.org/team

Some Trends in AI research

• 73% of the articles that they reviewed are in 2021 and 2022, indicating the more and more research are being done on AI learning in adult education. 
• Most of the studies are from Asia and USA, which are regions with major AI development.
• Please read Table 3 and 4 to check out some of the research done on AI literacy related to your field

How can AI be incorporated in the classroom?

An article they reviewed mentioned using a "flipped classroom" for students to share about AI learning, some articles talked about learning AI in programming class, and some talked about implementing via knowledge transfers (ex. lectures). Hopefully, future research could help us understand more about what content could be taught and how teachers could structure AI courses. For now, you may check out what is out there from the article or browse through the VCC library resources on AI.

Reflection on the article

I’m glad I read this article to understand a bigger picture about trends in AI literacy. I like how it is evidence-based and it is a good starting point to look into more specific literature related to our field. AI is definitely on the rise and I noticed it more since 2021. When I seek customer service though the phone or website, I would frequently be chatting with AI. Early this year, I've actually lost a student due to ChatGPT because this AI could check spelling and grammar for my student. Moreover, losing a student has given me a reality call to check out trends in how AI is used or should be used in education, or else I'd be left behind. The article pointed out that a good course on AI needs to be evaluated for accountability and good teaching practices. 

Will I teach AI? If there are situations where I think that ChatGBT (or other AI) could help my adult learner, I would show them how to use it. Before learning that though, I must review ethics of AI use with the learner to prevent plagiarism and over dependency on the tool. Eaton & Anselmo (2023) shared 6 thoughts on academic integrity in AI learning and provided guiding questions for educators when they want to engage and explain about AI apps. Lastly, I can also introduce my students to read about AI at https://ki-campus.org/team and https://www.elementsofai.com/ and remind them to keep an eye on new courses being offered, especially ones related to their field of work. 

Overall, AI is becoming more relevant to our lives and I would share with others what it can do for us so we can all better prepare for the future. As Eaton & Anselmo stated: 

"Artificial intelligence is not going anywhere. We must learn to work with new technology, not against it."

References

Eaton, S. & Anselmo, L. (2023, January). Teaching and learning with artificial intelligence.  Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. Available at https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/teaching-with-AI-apps

Laupichler, M.C., Aster, A., Schirch, J., and Raupach, T. (2022). Artificial intelligence literacy in higher and adult education: A scoping literature review. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X2200056X

Merriam, S.B., & Bierema, L.L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. Jossey-Bass.

University of Helsinki (n.d.). Course Overview. Elements of AI. https://www.elementsofai.com/

Vancouver Community College. (n.d.). ChatGPT and AI Technology: Top Resources. https://libguides.vcc.ca/AI

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