I do see the possible benefits of AI, but how are children supposed to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills if every time they hit a bump in the road they just turn to AI?

I think that the technology is currently too limited to take the place of problem solving and critical thinking skills. The AI makes errors and hallucinations, which have to be fact-checked, and it doesn't always answer questions with a factual or sufficient answer. For example, ask chatGPT to write an epic poem about Mr. Potato head, or to list possible alternatives to rocket power in space travel, or to draw a duck with asci characters. The answers to these questions seem to define its limits rather well. ChatGPT also has low test scores in the SAT ACT, and other academic tests, so it is probably unlikely it could, at its current level, replace human abilities.

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Course: AI for education > Unit 2

Lesson 2: AI in the classroom: Promising practices

Don't ban AI-powered chatbots

Google Classroom

This article, in which Sal argues that AI-powered chatbots will be everywhere, and should be integrated into lessons and curriculum, is a revised version of an interview between Khan Academy founder Sal Khan and Alyson Klein, originally published in EducationWeek on 13 February, 2023.

Sal's view: Don’t ban AI-powered chatbots

We believe many careers will involve working with LLMs

Even if a ban could be truly effective, it might actually put kids at a disadvantage because it would prevent them understanding this transformative technology and developing skills that will help them in the future job market.

Question: How do you navigate a world where all of the students have access to AI?

Option 1: Have students do more writing in class periods, in front of you.

In a traditional model, classes often consist of a lecture and a little bit of discussion. And then students are expected to do all the creation and synthesis work outside of class.

But those take-home writing activities will not be as useful for assessment because teachers won’t know who is using AI and how.

With that in mind, the "writer's workshop" model will continue to be effective pedagogy—where kids are writing all the time. And the teacher and peers are giving each other feedback and saying, ‘Oh, you might want to tweak that, etc.’

Option 2: Embrace the new learning experiences AI can offer

This is the future. We’re now in a time when if you’re doing any form of writing, and you’re not at least considering and exploring how a large language model might assist you, you might be working inefficiently.

Question: Is the five paragraph essay dead?

Not at all. There will soon be effective ways for students to develop their writing skills while using AI as a writing partner and coach. Understanding how to draft a quality argumentative or informative essay will continue to have value—the difference will be the way we go about teaching the skill, and help students drive past basic structural formulas and the derivative text that the AI might generate, and push for original arguments and genuine insight.

Question: How can new experiences improve learning?

The old way of doing writing assignments: “Kids, hey, write your five-paragraph essay by Friday.” You hand it in, the teacher will grade it, maybe by Monday, and it might ruin their weekend. If you’re lucky, you have a teacher who gives you some helpful, actionable, personalized feedback. If you’re really lucky and have a really invested teacher who has the time and passion, they might let you iterate on it. But oftentimes, you just get a grade, and you move on to the next assignment.

With the learning experiences we’re envisioning, every kid is going to get immediate personalized writing coaching.

AI will make it more possible for students to practice reading comprehension and practice writing skills at the same time. Imagine an activity on Khan Academy where there’s a reference passage, maybe an article of the Constitution or a famous speech, and the student works with the AI to construct a quality argument anchored in that primary source.

Like a great Socratic tutor, the AI could ask the student questions like

“What argument is this author making?”
“What would be some thesis statements related to this argument that you could make?”
“How would you support this claim if you only had three sentences to convince someone?”
“Okay, now, back up each of those sentences. What kinds of support should we add?”

In this case, the AI wouldn’t write it for the student—this is a new learning experience where the student does the work while the AI helps them to develop their critical thinking skills.

Human judgment, discernment and reason remain out of the reach of AI. Humanity needs to develop these skills as much as ever—arguably more than ever.

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Sniper
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Sniper's post “I do see the possible ben...”
I do see the possible benefits of AI, but how are children supposed to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills if every time they hit a bump in the road they just turn to AI?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Sniper's post “I do see the possible ben...”
(14 votes)
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- Velociraptor105
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Velociraptor105's post “I think that the technolo...”
  I think that the technology is currently too limited to take the place of problem solving and critical thinking skills. The AI makes errors and hallucinations, which have to be fact-checked, and it doesn't always answer questions with a factual or sufficient answer. For example, ask chatGPT to write an epic poem about Mr. Potato head, or to list possible alternatives to rocket power in space travel, or to draw a duck with asci characters. The answers to these questions seem to define its limits rather well. ChatGPT also has low test scores in the SAT ACT, and other academic tests, so it is probably unlikely it could, at its current level, replace human abilities.
  Comment on Velociraptor105's post “I think that the technolo...”
  (9 votes)
Ray Maddie
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Ray Maddie's post “Does this mean Khan will ...”
Does this mean Khan will eventually add WRITING courses? like you have to write a short story, a chapter, an essay, etc. and then an ai will be able to grade/help you with it basically being a teacher? If so, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT! I'm a HUGE writer!
Comment on Ray Maddie's post “Does this mean Khan will ...”
(15 votes)
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2045687
Posted a year ago. Direct link to 2045687's post “Are there any videos in A...”
Are there any videos in AI for education?
Comment on 2045687's post “Are there any videos in A...”
(4 votes)
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aetoledo17
Posted 23 days ago. Direct link to aetoledo17's post “I was wondering though, i...”
I was wondering though, if teachers allow students to use AI, that could have a negative impact, since some students can cheat and use it to write a paper for them. On the other hand, if teachers don't allow students to use AI, they wouldn't be able to practice their "reading comprehension and writing skills." So, which is the correct answer? Just a quick question.
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(1 vote)
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- ³oɔiiᴎ
  Posted 18 days ago. Direct link to ³oɔiiᴎ's post “Certain aspects of AI can...”
  Certain aspects of AI can be restricted for students. I used AI to write a sample essay because it was a requirement to use it, but to cover that gaps of it was on me.
  
  Again, if a student cheats or copies using AI, they will not be learning anything. That would be their fault, and not the teacher's.
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  (1 vote)
Darrin Patterson
Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to Darrin Patterson's post “As the "essay" is the wri...”
As the "essay" is the writing of choice in the example, how could this then apply to someone writing a speech, giving a talk, or presentation? Would the same rules apply, or would there be need for even more refinement and interactivity?
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(0 votes)
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MarkHeifner
Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to MarkHeifner's post “Is A.I. a tool when used ...”
Is A.I. a tool when used properly will enhance the learning of even the most difficult task of written composition?
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Revant.A
Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to Revant.A's post “tech to limited 💻”
tech to limited 💻
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dixierae2010
Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to dixierae2010's post “WHY is it inportant it l...”
WHY is it inportant it learn about aI?
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Sanat Tibrewal
Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to Sanat Tibrewal's post “How do we help humanity t...”
How do we help humanity to develop theses skills
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Jorge Daniel Garcia
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Jorge Daniel Garcia's post “How would those interacti...”
How would those interactions work in a large classroom? e.g. 80-student college class.
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- Austin M.
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Austin M.'s post “They probably wouldn't. F...”
  They probably wouldn't. For a college student who regularly attends classes of 100+ people (myself included), there is no possibility of this type of interaction occurring at all.
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