Key points:
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping education as we know it. AI’s potential and pitfalls continue to be debated for classroom and student use, as well as for society at large.
As educators navigate the demands of an AI-rich teaching environment, they require innovative tools to adapt their instructional practices while maintaining a focus on equity, efficiency, and continuous growth. Professional development will be even more important as the rate of change accelerates due to more powerful emerging tools.
Generative AI can help educators develop (and follow through on) personalized development pathways, streamlining credentialing requirements and recording professional growth in real time. Generative AI tools can revolutionize professional development, empowering educators with tailored support and automating traditionally time-intensive tasks. By examining specific use cases, benefits, and challenges, AI can foster a more responsive, efficient, and impactful PD ecosystem.
The need for AI in professional development
Educators often struggle to balance professional training with the constraints of time, accessibility, and relevance. Professional development programs often rely on a one-size-fits-all model, which cannot by definition address the needs of each individual teacher. Generative AI can assist in enabling a new era for professional educator growth. As Ferikoğlu and Akgün note in a recent article, “there is a significant need for early and ongoing professional development for educators to be fully prepared to address the new instructional realities brought forth by an AI-rich environment.”
Generative AI tools can respond to this challenge by offering adaptive solutions that cater to individual learning needs and institutional requirements. From creating personalized professional learning plans to automating continuing education documentation, AI-driven PD tools can assist educators to focus on meaningful growth instead of administrative requirements.
AI in personalized professional growth
One of the most promising applications of generative AI is its ability to design individualized professional development pathways. Acting as a training planner, AI tools can analyze an educator’s previous experiences, current skill set, teaching context, and long-term career goals to recommend targeted learning opportunities at all stages of the educator’s journey. For example, an AI-powered platform could identify that an educator is proficient in classroom management but has limited experience with digital tools, then suggest regional or online workshops or courses focusing on technology integration that are suited to the individual.
AI tools may be used to change the landscape of professional development by offering versatile tools that cater to the diverse needs of educators. These systems would help ensure that PD initiatives remain relevant, practical, and balance both personal priorities and institutional requirements. Tools like Coursera, edX, and LinkedIn Learning already use algorithms to suggest tailored learning paths, demonstrating the feasibility of personalized PD solutions at a broader scale.
Streamlining continuing education tracking
Educators are often required to earn continuing education units (CEUs) to maintain their licenses, an often-complicated process governed by unfamiliar bureaucratic requirements. Generative AI can streamline this process by automating the tracking and documentation of CEUs. Imagine an AI-integrated system that logs professional development activities as they occur, calculating and updating CEU credits in real time.
For instance, an AI-powered system integrated into an institution’s human resources portal could soon automatically record an educator’s participation in webinars, workshops, or online courses, converting them into the appropriate number of CEUs without manual input. AI-powered platforms could serve as proactive assistants, even monitoring an educator’s credentials and providing updates. For instance, if a teaching certification is about to expire, the system could notify the educator and provide clear instructions for renewal, minimizing the risk of lapses in licensure. This automated approach not only saves time but also reduces errors, ensuring that educators stay compliant with certification requirements.
Beyond renewals, AI can assist with maintaining up-to-date professional biographies and CVs. Generative AI can draft concise and comprehensive bios with minimal input from the educator. This feature proves invaluable for educators participating in conferences, submitting grant applications, or seeking new professional opportunities. For example, a simple prompt asking AI to summarize recent accomplishments can yield polished bios tailored to various audiences.
Challenges and ethical considerations
While the benefits of generative AI in PD ecosystems are exciting, it is important to approach these tools with a critical eye. Potential challenges include data privacy concerns, the risk of over-reliance on AI recommendations, and the need to address bias within AI algorithms. Gullani, et al. recently wrote that schools and districts must ensure that AI-enhanced tools are transparent, equitable, and aligned with their educational mission. Educators must always view AI as a supplement to, not a replacement for, human expertise. Human agency needs to be a core of any effective use of AI tools.
Conclusion
Generative AI is redefining educator professional development by offering tools and strategies to create smarter, more impactful, and targeted learning opportunities. From personalized PD plans to AI-supported assessment and feedback mechanisms, these innovations streamline processes save educators valuable time and provide actionable insights to support growth. By thoughtfully integrating these tools, educators and institutions can ensure professional development programs that are meaningful, scalable, and aligned with the evolving demands of our modern classrooms.
For a deeper dive into these ideas and to explore other groundbreaking insights, you are encouraged to review the authors’ chapter, Harnessing Generative AI for Educator Professional Development, inthe upcoming book from IGI Global, Teachers’ Roles and Perspectives on AI Integration in Schools, which examines how educators can navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by AI in additional professional development contexts.
