source : the age
Teachers across the country have been warned to exercise greater caution if and when they introduce artificial intelligence to primary school students due to a lack of research into its effects on learning.
The Australian Education Research Organisation’s AI in Schools guidelines released on Wednesday warn of the potential for a “performance paradox” whereby students achieve better on a task when using AI but ultimately learn less in the process.
It made five recommendations for teachers, including establishing clear expectations around AI use, monitoring for risks to student learning and helping students develop strong foundational knowledge.
“The emerging evidence suggests that AI doesn’t have a single, uniform effect on learning,” the guidelines from the national education evidence body state.
“Rather, its impact appears to depend on the design of the technology, including whether it incorporates pedagogical guardrails – that is, features that guide students toward engaging in the learning process rather than simply obtaining the answer.”
School leaders and teachers should:
- Prioritise evidence-based teaching and learning in decisions around using AI.
- Monitor for risks to student learning and support students in developing strong foundational knowledge, metacognitive strategies and self-regulated learning techniques.
- Establish clear expectations for AI use.
- Consider approaches to assessment and feedback.
- Apply a culturally responsive and reflexive lens that respects First Nations knowledges.
Source: Australian Education Research Organisation
Research released this year found NSW teachers reported students were using it to cheat and avoid thinking for themselves.
State governments around the country are winding back technology in the classroom, including NSW, which has capped screen time in class and moved to introduce more in-school assessments for the HSC.
Australian Education Research Organisation chief executive Jenny Donovan said AI use in schools was “really uneven all around the country” and teachers were crying out for more guidelines about how to effectively integrate it.
“Some teachers will be using it for helping with lesson preparation, with devising and administering assessments, potentially using digital tools with children to help with differentiation,” she said.
“I would bet my bottom dollar that most of them are doing what they’re doing with the best of intentions, but no real knowledge about whether or not it’s good for the students.”
The guidelines noted part of the problem was the lack of research around AI’s effects on student learning, with primary level research almost non-existent while many studies simply linked AI use with student engagement or perception rather than robust measures of learning.
She said particular caution was required in primary school because the foundations of reading and handwriting could not be done without a teacher.
“What’s really needed in the early years is teacher-led instruction … It’s too easy for the use of AI to mask the learning that hasn’t happened.”
NSW public school students from years 5 to 12 can use EduChat, which allows students to use AI in a safe and private environment.
The guidelines also said teachers could use artificial intelligence to create draft feedback of students’ work but they must “retain responsibility for interpreting student work” and making assessment judgments.
She said it was not about rejecting technology but about helping teachers ask questions.
“We might want to think carefully about really holding it back and preserving classrooms as spaces for children to learn from teachers, and not have them driven by the technology because it contains too much risk.”
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