Exhibition Session
Empowering educators to joyfully fulfill their God-given calling
A Biblical Approach for Thinking About AI in Education
with Dave Mulder of Dordt University
How do we think wisely when it comes to Artificial Intelligence? In this session with Dr. Dave Mulder, Professor of Education at Dordt University, you will reflect on your current imagination for AI and consider what a Christian imagination for AI might look like. You'll also discover how your thinking about AI can impact how you teach and lead.
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Dordt University
Dordt University is a Christian university located in Iowa that seeks to equip students to work effectively toward Christ-centered renewal in all areas of life. Dordt offers a Master of Education, Master of Special Education, and Master of Arts in Teaching—all taught 100 percent online and from a Christian perspective. Dordt is known for its affordable and engaging online master’s programs and excellent faculty. Dordt is also home to 1,500 undergraduate students with more than 88 percent living on campus. Students can choose from over 40 programs of study, and education is one of the largest majors.
Dordt University also runs the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE) which serves as a Christian education resource for schools, churches, families, and professionals.
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This vibrant, quick-reference guide highlights the six pillars of the Science of Reading and provides practical tips to support effective learning in each area. Keep it by your desk or with your lesson plans to help students thrive and become confident, capable readers.
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*Comments may be used as testimonials.
I appreciated this session so much! It was intelligent, biblical information that dispelled some anxiousness I’ve had about AI in genera, and it gave sound recommendations for it’s use. Thank you!!
*general
I teach Computer Science at the middle school level. One of my quarter offerings is a class on AI, where I do try to teach an understanding of how AI works and how we are to use it responsibly and ethically. I am always looking for ways to connect what I teach to Biblical principles. This session was very encouraging for me to think about the connection.
I sometimes get a little bit of pushback from well meaning people who don’t think computers should be in schools and are especially afraid of AI. It was so good to hear a brother in Christ speak about this topic in a positive and common-sense way.
Thanks for this encouraging feedback, Heather! Keep speaking up about AI–we can’t hide our heads in the sand, and we have to keep learning and growing.
Amazing session! I loved the idea of evaluating it as “from our imagination.” I was going to “watch” and ended up taking so many notes!
Thanks for viewing, and for taking the time to comment, Patty! Blessings to you in the joy and challenges of teaching in an AI world.
I would add a rule. One my students and I have recently been discussing “AI is NOT YOUR FRIEND – Do NOT accept advice from a computer” It’s part of the whole mess of us treating computes like people and people like things. Kids especially can get confused by things. AI, especially ChatGPT in my experience, works with confirmation bias and will reinforce your views rather than give you a boost back to reality.
That’s good advice for students, Bobi! That’s a big part of my concern for kids especially (but honestly, for adults too) when working with AI: I’m not sure they have enough discernment to make informed judgments about the quality of the results they get from the chatbot. And wisdom is definitely needed!
Thank You so much Dr. Mulder for your heart for God and educating from HIS perspective! This presentation is definitely one I will share with colleagues and friends. I was already of the belief that the development and use of AI was something we as Christians should not fear (God was not caught off guard by its development), but rather seek to learn more about it and use ethically. Your Godly perspective, knowledge and expertise were not only affirming, but encouraging, informative, and truly exhorting. I pray that the peace, power, and grace of God will be with you and your work will continue to thrive.
Thanks so much, Dr. Long, for your kind words and encouragement! I hope this presentation is a blessing for all who watch it.
Thank you. I loved hearing the background and had not thought about things we use every day being AI. RAFT is going to be very helpful for what I need at school, as well as other areas of my life.
I’m glad to hear it was helpful for you, Lauri! RAFT is a great format for student writing as well, and it is an easy way to differentiate for student choice and readiness. (And it also works great for prompting AI!) 🙂
As a writer, I have wrestled with this for the past year! I have used it in my teaching slides and to edit my book, and I love how you have broken it down for us here.
Glad you found it helpful, Kim! Blessings to you in the writing process too!
I love this session. Really well explained and clear. AI is here and I use it on a regular basis for an instructional tool. I use MagicSchool AI.
Thanks for the feedback, Ingrid–glad you found it helpful! MagicSchool is a great set of AI tools for teachers.
Thank you so much for the great presentation of AI. I have struggled with using AI since one of my students said, “AI is my best friend.” To which I responded, “Your best friend should be that organ between your ears (AKA brain) in fifth grade.” I loved how you talked about it supporting students and saving time. Your explanations and comments were very thought provoking.
I’m glad you found this session helpful, Tricia! I’m with you about your student’s response–that is very troubling. We need to encourage students (and teachers too!) to be the real human beings that they are created to be. Thanks for taking the time to share your response to the session!
This was inspiring. I wrote so many note. One of the best sessions I’ve ever attended.
I’m so glad to hear this! Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to say so.
At the risk of a little shameless self-promotion here…if you appreciated the things I’ve shared in this session, you will likely also benefit from my brand new book that just came out: _Teach Like a Human: Playful Practice and Serious Faith in the Age of AI_. The book carries forward a lot of the ideas in this session, and gives practical suggestions for Christian educators for how to engage in this rapidly-changing world of education where AI suddenly seems to be everywhere.
I have more information about the book on my website: https://www.drdavemulder.com/teach-like-a-human/
And you can order copies on Amazon or Bookshop.org:
https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Like-Human-Playful-Practice/dp/B0FSBQJD1K/
https://bookshop.org/p/books/teach-like-a-human-david-j-mulder/69d01ad6dd170627?ean=9798385258413&next=t
Very helpful information for me! I already use AI some; this gives me guidance on how to write prompts.
I’m so glad to hear that, Amy! Blessings to you as you navigate the joys and challenges of teaching in an AI-powered world.
The fact that he warned against addressing technology as if it were human and then later said “treat your AI like an eager intern who wants to help you” shows HOW EASY IT IS to stay on guard against that! Our creativity and relational impulse, both gifts from God, easily take us in that direction, but while we can create chatbots and realistic-looking robots, and maybe even imagine them as more than they actually are, we cannot breathe life into inanimate objects.
There is so much to address regarding how AI plays into human selfishness and laziness, and plays against flourishing in the ways God has designed for us. These are the conversations I try to have with my students now. A few years back, we just talked about the cheating potential. The fact that the conversation has deepened is a success in a chaotic period of tech upheaval.
Ah, thanks for this feedback, Suzanne! You’re right that it is *so* easy to treat the machines as human (or nearly human, anyway.) I really meant that “eager intern” example to be an analogy…but I think you’re right to name it as you did: I’m falling prey to the very thing I’m concerned about! Thanks for pushing my thinking forward on this. I’m always learning. 🙂
Wonderful to have something share biblical ideas around how to navigate the uncertainties of this. I love the way he explained how maybe it isn’t quite as scary as we’ve been thinking. However, I agree completely with not losing our humanity by using it.
I’m glad to hear this was an encouragement for you, Emily! My biggest concern about AI is how easy it is to humanize the machines–and I want humans doing the human work. I’m grateful to hear this was helpful for you, and maybe even relieved some of your uncertainties. Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to comment!
I agree that AI is a tool that needs to be taught. It’s not going away. In my learning analytics class we had a few discussions on how to use AI. Students need to be taught how to use it ethically. They still need the basics of writing and reading, among other subjects, in order to analyze the responses well.
Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to comment, Christy. I 100% agree about student needing to learn the basics–I believe that reading and writing will *always* be important skills for humans. Glad this resonated with you!
I loved this session! I have had mixed feelings about AI, and Dr. Mulder helped clarify things for me. I can use AI as a co-pilot and give me more time for student interaction. I loved the story about his Grandpa Mulder, I always helped my Grandpa too, and I learned so much from him.
Thanks for this kind feedback, Jodi! Glad it was an encouragement for you.
I have been struggling with AI also. My district encourages us to use it, but still says no to students. This really helped give me a new perspective on helping the students use it responsibly.
I appreciated the breakdown of terms/definitions so the viewer could easily understand “Neural Networks, Machine Learning, and Large Language Model.” It was also helpful to identify what GPT means in ChatGPT. Thank you! Great presentation with pointing out the Big Story of Scripture, Habits of Mind for Working with AI, and Teacher Tips for Using AI. Thought-provoking questions encouraged reflection.
Thanks for the feedback, Ashley! I hope that demystifying what is happening under the hood with a chatbot can help us better understand both the possibilities and the pitfalls.
It’s always a great reminder that teachers faced similar struggles when other technology was introduced into education such as the calculator and the internet/world wide web.
I know I sound like a “bona fide old dude” talking about my first time on the World Wide Web back in 1995, but it’s interesting to me as I see such parallel reactions to AI today. Glad you found this encouraging!
Thanks Dr. Mulder for a great way to think about how AI can be a tool. I like the lesson of learning about what AI is and the 5 pillars of ethics and Responsible use of AI is so helpful. Plus I loved Grandpa’s wisdom and will use that in my classroom! Thanks for taking your time to share.
It was a pleasure! Grateful to hear it was an encouragement for you, Scott!