Harnessing the Power of Generative AI: Redefining Education at Masai School

Authoured by: Albert, Director of Platforms & Outcomes

Generative AI is currently playing the role of a disruptor in every sector, especially so in the field of education. It holds the power to completely reimagine the current education landscape with an unlimited gamut of new ideas and opportunities. We at Masai wanted to explore these opportunities using our best resources – our brilliant colleagues. And that’s how the Reinvent Mas.A.I Hackathon came to be – a four-day event that saw 16 teams put their minds to the test to solve 11 problem statements using AI. The goal was simple: reimagine Masai, reimagine education.

Our teams enthusiastically tackled a broad spectrum of problems, focusing on solutions that could enhance both the students' classroom experience and the tutors' instructional strategies. We saw innovative ideas for personalised lesson plans, AI-assisted homework help, interactive virtual classrooms, and tools for interview preparation and revision. It was thrilling to witness our team members' excitement when they discovered new applications for GPT that hadn't occurred to us before. We took away a greater understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs), fostering an appreciation of the broad array of solutions that AI offers.

Some of our biggest breakthroughs were building a Learning Assistant that helps students in individual study, like a personal tutor; a Hybrid Learning App that combines AI, audio, and video learning modules to help create a customisable learning experience for students; and a Student Prep and Job App that helps students make their portfolios and resumes as well as preparing them for interviews. These and many other innovative solutions got us looking at our work through a new lens, opening our minds to new solutions and possibilities.

By working through some of the major problems plaguing the edtech and jobtech space right now using the help of Generative AI, we realised that we have a unique opportunity to craft more personalised and engaging learning experiences for today’s students, who are already tech-agnostic. AI can tailor learning to each student's pace and style, provide real-time feedback, identify gaps in understanding, and suggest further learning resources. This opens up a whole world of opportunities in a space where homogeneity has become an obstacle.

Additionally, AI can also aid in instruction and bridge a lot of the gaps existing in the traditional education system. It can be used to automate administrative tasks for instructors, freeing them to interact more directly with students, and help meet the need for teaching tools and resources that are otherwise scarce. LLMs like ChatGPT have thus demonstrated their educational potential.

We at Masai are keen to integrate such models into our educational framework to provide individualised feedback and encourage a focus on understanding the 'whys' rather than just the 'whats'. Our hackathon illuminated the vast potential of Generative AI in education. As we navigate this exhilarating convergence of AI and education, we remain dedicated to leveraging these technologies to enrich our curriculum, pedagogy, and student engagement.