With students currently on summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, educators should be taking the opportunity to examine teaching and learning pedagogies, including the use of AI and other technologies. In this article, we highlight some of the concerns of AI in the classroom, the bigger issue of digital technologies and child development, and how we can better navigate between traditional and digital modalities.
Worldwide, teachers and the wider education system are grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on students and learning. Undoubtedly, AI can transform the classroom by providing teachers and students with a bigger arsenal of tools to facilitate learning. At the same time, thanks to its easy accessibility and power, AI can be used to bypass the learning process, which, essentially, is causing educators to re-evaluate what it means to learn and how it is assessed.
The recent article in Greater Belize Media, entitled “Teachers Rethink Learning in the Age of AI“, eloquently captured the evolving landscape of education as AI tools and large language models such as ChatGPT become increasingly prevalent. More importantly, it highlighted a critical juncture for Caribbean educators, as they grapple with the challenges and opportunities presented by this technological shift.
Defining the role of AI in the classroom
Several concerns were raised in the article, including the risk of students relying too heavily on these tools at the expense of developing essential critical thinking and writing skills, plagiarism and how educators strike the right balance between embracing innovation and ensuring academic integrity. Ultimately, as some of the educators interviewed for the article point out, the core objective of education — to foster independent thought and analytical abilities — could be undermined if AI is not integrated thoughtfully. However, how to achieve that objective is still to be determined.
The article concludes by shifting focus from resistance to adaptation, with some educators recommending a proactive approach of using AI as a learning tool rather than a substitute for genuine understanding. Such a view aligns with the broader educational philosophy that technology, when harnessed effectively, can augment learning rather than detract from it.
The bigger picture: The impact of technology on child development
Although AI is the latest technology to capture our attention and imagination, within a wider context, we also ought to be asking questions about the impact of digital technologies, not just AI, on the physiological development of children. To varying degrees, the impact of the latter has been documented and presents a complex picture with both significant benefits and notable risks.
Subject to the devices and the software applications to which children have been exposed, cognitive benefits include supporting the development of analytical and critical thinking skills, memory retention, problem-solving abilities, and logical reasoning, as well as enhanced visual-spatial abilities and cognitive flexibility. On the other hand, children can experience attention span and executive function deficiencies (affecting working memory, inhibition, and task switching), which can hinder academic performance, speaking and language delays, and lower measures of intelligence and poorer scores in standardised tests. Mental health and behavioural challenges can also occur, including increased incidence and severity of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and behavioural problems (hyperactivity, inattention), decreased emotional regulation, increased irritability, and difficulty getting along with others.
Critical among the recommendations that are usually made is limiting technology use by young children and greater supervision of their screen time or online activities. Further, it is essential to balance screen time with physical activity, outdoor play, face-to-face social interactions, and traditional learning methods. Additionally, there should be an emphasis on the educational value and age-appropriateness of digital content, noting that passive, non-educational, or inappropriate content poses greater developmental risks to children.
Digital learning versus traditional learning
One of the challenges of our emerging digital societies is determining the skills that we need to thrive in that society versus the skills that we need to be developmentally whole. For example, we are (arguably) getting to a point where we no longer need to learn to read or write, as AI and other technologies can do so for us. However, learning to read and write improves brain development by increasing neural productivity while also strengthening the various pathways in your brain, which increases our overall cognitive functioning. Hence, although educators’ concerns tend to be more along the lines of trying to ensure students are indeed learning and not just replacing their effort with AI, protecting the cognitive and physiological development is even more critical.
Although there have been calls for clearer guidelines and open dialogue about AI use in schools, the discourse should not happen solely among educators. Instead, a multistakeholder and collaborative effort that includes (at a minimum) policymakers, educators, healthcare providers and child development specialists, students, and parents to establish appropriate ethical frameworks and best practices for AI integration.
In summary and without a doubt, classrooms are being transformed into hybrid environments where human intellect and machine capabilities intersect. However, this transformation requires educators to redefine their roles, moving beyond traditional instruction to become facilitators of critical engagement with information, regardless of its origin. Holding on to the status quo is not an option. Educators and the wider ecosystem must understand the implications of AI and other technologies and strategically incorporate them in order to prepare students for a future where humans and intelligent machines will undeniably coexist.
Image credit: Pexels (Pixabay)
