Artificial intelligence has become a classroom go-to tool, promising to save teachers time, streamline planning, and even personalize instruction. But are these tools quietly reinforcing outdated teaching methods?
A recent study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan examined 90 lesson plans generated by popular AI-powered platforms, including MagicSchool, School AI, and vanilla GPT-4, and found that many AI-generated lesson plans still rely heavily on traditional, teacher-centered instruction. Instead of promoting creativity, autonomy, or classroom dialogue, the content often mirrors decades-old models of passive learning.
Let’s take a closer look at the findings and what educators can do about it.
What Is Pedagogical Bias in AI?
Just like humans, AI systems reflect the data they’re trained on. When applied to education, that means AI tools may carry pedagogical biases, built-in assumptions about how teaching should work. These biases often go unnoticed but shape how lessons are designed and how students engage.
In the case of AI lesson generators, researchers found that the technology tends to default to:
- Teacher-directed instruction
- Little to no classroom discussion
- Minimal student choice
This is a missed opportunity, especially when modern education emphasizes collaboration and student agency.
Why Student Agency Matters
Student agency refers to students’ capacity to set goals, reflect on their learning, and take purposeful action toward their growth and development (Bandura, 1989; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2008). Decades of research confirm that agency leads to deeper learning and better outcomes. But the AI-generated lesson plans in the study offered little room for students to take initiative, make decisions, or explore open-ended problems.
In many cases, students were directed to “complete worksheets,” “work quietly,” or “respond to predefined prompts.” Rarely were they encouraged to set goals, explore alternative approaches, or engage in peer-driven learning.
Where’s the Dialogue?
Real back-and-forth communication in the classroom is another key driver of critical thinking and engagement. But here, too, most AI-generated lessons fell short. Researchers found that dialogue was largely absent or limited to surface-level activities like briefly sharing ideas or answering factual questions.
The dominant format was still a familiar one: teacher explains, students listen, lesson ends.
Can Prompt Engineering Fix This?
The researchers tested a solution. By designing their own custom GPT-4-based lesson plan generator using intentional prompt engineering, they were able to significantly improve lesson plans across multiple dimensions of student agency and classroom dialogue.
These lessons included:
- Student choice in project topics and presentation formats
- Peer feedback sessions
- Goal-setting exercises
- Open-ended discussions guided by scaffolded prompts
The results suggest that with the right prompts and frameworks, AI can support more progressive, student-centered instruction.
For further details on the study and its findings, you can read the full paper here: Pedagogical Bias in AI-Based Lesson Planning.
What Can Educators and Developers Do?
This research highlights a simple truth: AI tools reflect the teaching we ask of them.
To ensure AI tools help rather than hinder modern education, we need to:
- Raise awareness of pedagogical bias among educators and developers
- Incorporate values like agency and dialogue into the design of AI tools
- Train teachers to use AI critically and creatively
- Build communities and repositories to share effective prompts and lesson structures
LocoRobo’s Approach: AI With Pedagogy in Mind
At LocoRobo, we believe AI should enhance teaching, not reinforce outdated methods. That’s why our STEM solutions support hands-on learning for tomorrow’s careers and collaborative problem-solving.
The study highlighted how better-designed prompts can improve lesson quality and promote agency and dialogue. At LocoRobo, we offer a comprehensive Prompt Engineering course as part of our AI curriculum.
Students explore how to:
- Write clear, purposeful prompts to guide AI effectively
- Embed context, roles, and examples to increase relevance
- Use advanced strategies like chain-of-thought reasoning
- Reduce bias and promote fairness in AI outputs
Explore how LocoRobo’s AI-powered education tools and prompt engineering curriculum can help your classroom harness AI with intention, equity, and purpose.
