Are College Professors Still Relevant In The Age Of AI?

Forbes

23-07-2025

A Robot Teacher teaching a bored and confused student.
In 2025 ChatGPT can give you a full length lecture within seconds and TikTok is much more fun than listening to a professor read through a slideshow they haven't edited in years, so what is the point of showing up to class anyways?
Even for instructors that care about teaching, keeping student's attention is increasingly challenging from pedagogues at elementary schools to graduate school professors at elite universities as students show up distracted and on their phones. Many are rightfully questioning why they got into the profession in the first place.
AI and the global pandemic have only deepened the problem, and many schools will only continue to rely more on delivering education via new Artificial Intelligence tools to cut down on the rising cost of education, so what are instructors to do when so much is stacked against them?
Some schools have taken drastic measures to eradicate at least part of the problem at its source, banning cell phones in the classroom or during school hours all together, with some U.S. States working to write this into law.
But if students are showing up to class with already depleted dopamine levels from scrolling all morning what else can be done to get their attention back?
Increased usage of technology in the classroom is only likely to exacerbate the issue. Self-paced learning, while convenient, has already proven to have lower completion rates (often falling below below 10%) and in some cases poorer outcomes, especially when specific support systems aren't put in place and students don't structure their study time correctly.
There's also strong empirical evidence to support the need for humans in the classroom. A 2021 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that student motivation is significantly impacted by nonverbal behaviors like eye contact, tone, and body language, leading to increased student attention, engagement, and confidence.
Furthermore, social presence, defined as the feeling of connection with a real person, has proven to improve critical thinking and overall student satisfaction in the learning experience.
It's safe to assume then that human led instruction is here to stay at least in some form or another, a fair assumption given that especially in a higher education setting students are still likely to pay a premium for access to experts and individualized support.
Bringing curiosity back into the classroom means creating unexpected and delightful opportunities for engagement for students that are otherwise likely to tune out to the same old model of teaching.
Periodically inviting guest speakers that are industry experts or deeply knowledgeable about the topic being taught is a great way to create a pattern interrupt for the student. While it's important to vet the speaker ahead of time to make sure that their background and insight is interesting enough, experts tend to bring unique insight into the classroom that piques the curiosity of students that are keen on getting a glimpse into what a professional version of their life can look like from a first person perspective.
These sessions can be relatively easy to facilitate if run in a Q&A format with the instructor as the moderator. Students can also be prompted to ask questions throughout the session or the guest can be directed to come ready with certain discussion prompts for the students, further alleviating the work of the instructor.
Case-based learning can also be an effective way to bring practical application to the lessons being taught, something students increasingly crave to ensure what they are learning has utility in the real world.
This can be done in a single classroom session or spread out across a semester, and the practical nature of the material creates opportunities for dynamic classroom activity formats like peer role-playing between the students, and calling on volunteers to role-play with the instructor in front of the room.
Gamifying the learning experience can also help create accountability in the classroom. This can be an analog or digital dashboard that tracks contributions across modalities like speaking, listening, or helping peers. This can be organized as a ranked 'Top 10' list to avoid singling out students that are shy or unable to contribute to a particular class.
Other ideas for gamifying the experience can be issuing badges to recognize mastery of skills like 'Team Researcher' or 'Master Negotiator' with the ability for students to unlock new titles or levels as they demonstrate competency in new areas, or providing students with learning credits in the form of a classroom currency for certain behaviors that can unlock access to introductions to professionals, or 1:1 resume reviews and mock interview sessions.
When it comes to assignments another way to meet students where they are is to incorporate social media mediums like TikToks or Reels as Assignments that allow students to summarize or dramatize a lecture concept in a 30 to 60 second video. Students will be challenged to think about how to create compelling content around class material in a short form video and instructors can even create a competition around which content gets the most organic views.
Learning is not only about downloading concepts to pass a test and graduate with a passable GPA. It's about creating memorable experiences that can help solidify the information being taught while working to create a well rounded individual that is equipped to make informed decisions about their future and the impact they want to have on the communities they belong to.
As educators it's our job to continuously experiment with how we connect to students even as technology or cultural trends challenge the effectiveness of how things used to be done. After all, the ability to make a mark on our students is what makes our job more fulfilling.