Key points:
AI can help develop soft skills, but they are uniquely human capabilities
AI’s transformative role in accessibility
When it comes to AI use, educators are more comfortable than students
For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub
With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, many parents are now asking: Should I let my kids use AI as a learning aid?
As the father of an elementary school student, I’m one of these parents. I want my child to be a successful learner, so how do I offer effective, meaningful academic support? Should I turn to AI for tutoring when my child struggles? Because I have experience in the edtech industry, I have some thoughts on what I think the key question should be: How can I nurture a genuine love of learning?
We know that students today are still struggling academically, and research shows that tutoring can have a strong positive impact on student learning outcomes. We also know there are three essential instructional skills that support effective learning. Those are the ability to personalize teaching, foster critical thinking, and inspire a passion for learning.
AI can provide these skills to some extent, but there is a limit to how useful artificial intelligence can be in each of the essential three areas. Here’s what we know about how AI can be helpful–and where it’s not:
Personalized tutoring engages students with instruction tailored to their individual needs, learning style, and pace.
Helpful: AI can adapt content delivery to suit your child’s individual learning style, whether they are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner. It can provide varied resources such as videos, interactive exercises, and reading materials to cater to these preferences.
Not helpful: While AI can adjust content, it cannot fully tailor its teaching methods in the same way a human tutor can. Tutors who know your child’s interests and strengths can adapt their teaching more effectively, providing a level of personalization that AI cannot match.
Fostering critical thinking and problem-solving depends on using intentional tutoring strategies and practices.
Helpful: AI can present challenging problems and scenarios for your child to solve, encouraging them to think critically. It can offer practice exercises that develop analytical skills and provide immediate feedback on their performance.
Not helpful: AI struggles to foster deeper critical thinking and problem-solving skills that require nuanced understanding and interactive discussions. Human tutors can guide your child through complex reasoning processes and encourage them to question and explore ideas more thoroughly.
Effective tutoring motivates, models, and inspires a genuine love of learning.
Helpful: ChatGPT and its competitors are moving beyond simple, text-based interactions to more complex interactive abilities. These platforms can dazzle with their rapid responses and impressive research.
Not helpful: Algorithms, however, lack the lived experiences that can inspire in your child a true love of learning. For example, AI can never recount personal, real-life stories to capture your child’s imagination. Human tutors can share their own deep interests in different subjects, creating a far more engaging and meaningful learning experience.
Unlike AI, human tutors can identify what excites and motivates your child. This individualized attention can significantly boost a student’s confidence and motivation. As students experience success and improvement, their self-esteem tends to increase, fostering a more positive attitude towards school.
Effective tutors also encourage in their students a sense of accountability, and this makes learners more likely to engage and persevere to find answers on their own. Finally, tutors can draw upon their experiences and passions to inspire a love of learning in students.
For AI to serve as any kind of support for learning, instead of simply as a tool for getting answers, parents also need to know their child’s skills and typical behaviors. These three questions can clarify the situation for you:
Can your student create the kinds of prompts needed to foster learning?
Are they able–and willing–to actually use those prompts or will they simply ask the AI for answers?
If the answer to either question is ‘no’ or ‘maybe not,’ will you or another adult be able to step in to assist and supervise?
To navigate a rapidly changing world, our kids are going to need high-level 21st century skills. These include problem solving, creative thinking, and collaboration. Although artificial intelligence can help develop these soft skills, they are–and will probably remain–uniquely human capabilities. And this type of deep learning is best supported through meaningful, human interactions between children and their tutors, teachers, and parents.
With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, many parents are now asking: Should I let my kids use AI as a learning aid? AI in Education, Digital Learning, eSchool Media, Featured on eSchool News, digital, digital learning, Education, help, IT, kids, learning, news, parents, school eSchool News
