Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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** April 18, 2024
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AI in the Classroom: Insights from America's Educators
How might generative artificial intelligence change teaching and learning? This question has been on the minds of educators since tools like ChatGPT became widely available.
While the answer likely won't be clear for some time, a new RAND study takes a first step by shedding light on AI in the classroom today. Our researchers asked teachers and school district leaders across the United States about whether and how they use AI products and tools.
Here's an overview of the findings:
- As of fall 2023, 18 percent of K12 teachers reported using AI for teaching; another 15 percent said they tried AI at least once.
- Middle and high school teachers and those who taught English or social studies were more likely to use AI.
- The most common ways that teachers used AI tools were to adapt content to fit the level of their students and to generate instructional materials.
- By the end of this school year, 60 percent of districts plan to have trained teachers about AI use. Urban districts were the least likely to deliver such training.
Although AI use is currently limited to a minority of teachers, it appears poised to grow. That's why further research on this topic is so vital. As school districts and teachers continue to roll out AI in the classroom, it will be important to track outcomes that may affect students, including the quality of AI-generated instructional content and AI's potential to exacerbate educational inequality.
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How to Disrupt China's Role in Synthetic Opioid Trafficking
China produces and distributes the vast majority of precursor chemicals used to make illegal fentanyl. Disrupting China's role at the start of the fentanyl global supply chain is likely the most effective way to reduce how much of the substance is available to users. (A single 55-gallon drum of precursors could equate to millions of doses of fentanyl on the street.) This week, RAND's David Luckey testified before a House committee about this issue. He discussed potential solutions in a few key areas, including money laundering in China, illegal fentanyl sales online, and border and mail screening.
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Working Toward Allied Space Power
As outer space becomes more congested and contested, U.S. cooperation with allies and partners is essential. While Washington has had some success, RAND experts say that "entrenched organizational, regulatory, and practical challenges" continue to limit cooperation. Their recent study identified specific areas for improvement. Information sharing, for example, could be enhanced by upgrading insufficient IT infrastructure and revising the rules for sharing classified information with allies and partners. Whether or not such changes are made, though, the United States can do one thing right away to make tangible progress toward allied space power: be more transparent and consistent about the realistic prospects for cooperation in the space domain.
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** RAND Recommends
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- In Foreign Affairs, RAND's Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko of Johns Hopkins University wrote about what did--and didn't--happen during diplomatic discussions in the early weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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- RAND's Cortney Weinbaum was a guest on the Intelligence Career Conversations podcast. She discussed how 9/11 inspired her to pursue a career in public service, the importance of STEM knowledge and soft skills, how to build mentors, and more.
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- Estimates from a new RAND study can help the Department of Defense determine what and how much assistive technology will be required to support workers with disabilities.
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** Events
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Policy Lab: How Can New Technologies Help Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change?
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (Online)
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Long War in Europe: Options for the United States, Poland, and Allies for 2024 and Beyond
Thursday, April 25, 2024 (Washington, D.C., and Online)
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