Here are questions parents should ask about AI in the classroom
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With kids back in school, neuroscientists, scholars and psychologists are encouraging parents to get curious about how their children — particularly elementary, middle and high school students — are using AI.
Why it matters: There's essentially "an experiment underway" with young kids, because a huge percentage of them are using genAI tools at school and at home, says Kris Perry, executive director of children and screens at the Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.
State of play: A longitudinal K-12 study of the impact of AI tools in the classroom doesn't yet exist, and every state, school committee and teacher seems to be incorporating AI differently.
- The Fulton County School System said it's teaching its students how to use AI "effectively," according to WSB.
- One way the district is using AI is by creating chatbots that represent historical people, and allowing students to interact with them in an environment set and controlled by educators, the news station reported.
Zoom in: Here are some questions parents should ask about how AI is being incorporated into their children's classrooms, educators and scientists tell Axios.
1. Are the AI tools and policies safe?
Read school AI policies and ask for clarification, educators say.
- "If parents are in a school that has no policy or confusing ones, I always advocate for them to push the matter," Katherine Goyette, computer science coordinator for California Department of Education, tells Axios' Megan Morrone.
AI products built for adults might not fit kids, Perry worries, pointing to challenges with social media. She advocates for more collaboration between AI tools and child development experts.
2. Does the child have an opportunity for deep reading?
Reading can shift feelings and perspectives — it's why a single coming-of-age story can be life-changing.
- "The developmental concerns are huge" for young people offloading reading and summarizing to an LLM, says children's literacy advocate Maryanne Wolf, a director in UCLA's education department.
- She tells Axios she's concerned that if kids are not deep reading they will lose the ability to think critically, to relate and to separate fact from fiction.
3. Does the child ever write unassisted?
The practice of writing is not just putting words on a page but "the act of thinking and organizing and having a coherent sequence of ideas," says neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, professor at the University of California, San Francisco and author of "The Distracted Mind."
- If we stop doing that — particularly at a young age, when brains are most able to form new neural pathways — "don't we just lose something at the heart of what it means to be human?" Gazzaley asks.
- Some studies — including one that used EEG measurements — suggest that leaning on AI for writing tasks affects brain activity and reduces critical thinking, and that using it for brainstorming can lead to less diversity in ideas.
4. Does the child experience other friction in school that's important for learning?
Humans prefer to "take the path of least resistance," called cognitive heuristics — so it makes sense that they like generative AI, which makes things easier, says psychologist Gloria Mark, author of "Attention Span" and chancellor's professor emerita at University of California, Irvine. That's not always a good thing.
- It's "high-friction, low-reward" experiences that help you "develop into a tough person" who's resilient, confident and has agency, Perry says.
Bottom line: It can be hard for parents to know where to focus their energy when it comes to monitoring the use of AI tools, but asking a few key questions is a start.