Thanks for the insightful article, Dmitry! It's hard to disagree with the points you've made about the future of teaching assistants. In my view, the bedrock of education—social educational institutions like schools and universities—will remain largely unchanged. The real essence of school lies in live interaction and group learning.
Two significant achievements of schools that I find difficult to digitize:
1. Group Dynamics: Group learning and socialization serve as motivation for students, involving competition, imitation, authority, and more. Group learning for children via online platforms like Zoom has proven ineffective, as seen during the pandemic. The format of live group interaction is irreplaceable so far.
2. Education as a Social Issue: Schools are embedded in social life, providing a convenient solution for parents to engage their children during the day and a necessary obligation for students to learn daily. At home, children might not discover the fascinating world of chemistry or biology, but instead, they might end up in the world of TikTok and Dota. It's challenging to empower AI to introduce new concepts to a child without giving them the option to refuse. This is a social issue that is addressed by strict social norms.
Teaching Assistants can undoubtedly secure their place in areas where schools are failing, such as personalized introduction of material, bridging knowledge gaps, and home education. The main advantage of TAs is to provide something akin to a private tutor—an intensive, personalized home education. Traditionally, only wealthy families could afford such education, but with the help of AI and technology, the cost has significantly decreased, making it more accessible to most families.
LLMs can work as a bridge for explaining new knowledge through existing ones. If we supplement LLMs with excellent informational materials and multi-modality, we can create ideal conditions for home education.
Thanks for the insightful article, Dmitry! It's hard to disagree with the points you've made about the future of teaching assistants. In my view, the bedrock of education—social educational institutions like schools and universities—will remain largely unchanged. The real essence of school lies in live interaction and group learning.
Two significant achievements of schools that I find difficult to digitize:
1. Group Dynamics: Group learning and socialization serve as motivation for students, involving competition, imitation, authority, and more. Group learning for children via online platforms like Zoom has proven ineffective, as seen during the pandemic. The format of live group interaction is irreplaceable so far.
2. Education as a Social Issue: Schools are embedded in social life, providing a convenient solution for parents to engage their children during the day and a necessary obligation for students to learn daily. At home, children might not discover the fascinating world of chemistry or biology, but instead, they might end up in the world of TikTok and Dota. It's challenging to empower AI to introduce new concepts to a child without giving them the option to refuse. This is a social issue that is addressed by strict social norms.
Teaching Assistants can undoubtedly secure their place in areas where schools are failing, such as personalized introduction of material, bridging knowledge gaps, and home education. The main advantage of TAs is to provide something akin to a private tutor—an intensive, personalized home education. Traditionally, only wealthy families could afford such education, but with the help of AI and technology, the cost has significantly decreased, making it more accessible to most families.
LLMs can work as a bridge for explaining new knowledge through existing ones. If we supplement LLMs with excellent informational materials and multi-modality, we can create ideal conditions for home education.
Exactly!