Teachers worried about critical thinking as AI becomes widespread in schools
A report by New Zealand's Education Review Office indicates that while most schools are using AI, teachers are concerned about its negative impact on students' critical thinking skills. Despite AI being used for administrative tasks and lesson development, a significant percentage of students have misused it for schoolwork, prompting calls for national guidelines.
Why it matters
The widespread adoption of AI in education presents both opportunities for efficiency and risks to fundamental learning skills like critical thinking, necessitating careful policy development to ensure beneficial integration and mitigate potential harm.
The Education Review Office says most schools are using artificial intelligence but fear it is damaging children's critical thinking.
In a report out on Thursday, the office said generative AI is becoming part of everyday school life and teachers and principals want more formal guidance from the Education Ministry.
The report Ready or not: How are schools responding to Artificial Intelligence recommended development of a national AI in education framework and national policies on teacher and student use of the technology.
It said the review office found 40 percent of secondary students had misused artificial intelligence for their schoolwork though less than half that figure admitted to using it to cheat in assessments .
The report said AI was emerging as a key issue in education and more than 90 percent of New Zealand school principals and more than 80 percent of teachers used it.
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