Using GPT-4 to improve teaching and learning in Brazil

Arco Educação, Brazil’s largest educational operating system, is partnering with OpenAI to build tools that enable teachers to concentrate on what matters most: helping students learn. “Arco’s products were built by teachers, for teachers,” says CEO Ari de Sá Cavalcante. “Our AI strategy aims to free up educators’ time, enabling them to focus more on each student's unique learning journey.” 

In Brazil, the average teacher spends a third of their time on administrative tasks, which is 40 percent more than the global average (OECD 2018). The rest of their time is spent on lesson planning, grading, and other operational activities. Arco Educação is leveraging AI to reduce this burden, allowing teachers to dedicate more time to delivering quality teaching directly to their students.

Lesson planning is one of the most time-consuming responsibilities for teachers, especially when navigating classrooms with diverse learning needs such as autism, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, or dyslexia. Over 1.7 million students are enrolled in special needs programs in Brazil, so developing inclusive lesson plans can have a large impact. Currently, teachers will work with inclusion support centers to develop a complete individualized education plan (IEP) for each student, which can take hours of planning for each class. The Teacher Assistant is designed to significantly speed up this process. Fernando, a high school teacher, says, “The Teacher Assistant allowed me to optimize my time, saving me hours that I used to spend on tasks such as creating lesson plans and designing classroom activities aligned with the course curriculum. The Teacher Assistant provides suggestions that serve as a gateway to new ideas. With more time for what truly matters, students are positively impacted.”