A new report from the University of Minnesota finds generative artificial intelligence has the potential to severely disrupt critical learning processes for students – especially those in elementary school.
“We have been extremely concerned by the public discourse around this topic and the approach to learning as if it is this monolithic thing, when, in fact… it’s quite complex,” said Panayiota Kendeou, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Educational Psychology and a lead author of the report.
She and other learning scientists surveyed experts about AI for their study and found there is a dearth of high-quality research on how artificial intelligence affects learning. But there was also wide consensus among experts that introducing AI to students in certain contexts could cause “severe and one-sided” disruption to critical aspects of learning.
“Casual, careless use of general-purpose GenAI can threaten the very learning processes necessary for committing new ideas to memory… and also the higher-order thinking needed to deeply understand and use these ideas in novel ways,” report authors wrote.
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Kendeou said experts expressed extra caution when it comes to introducing AI to primary school students because of the skills being introduced and practiced at that age.
In writing, for example, Kendeou said students need to learn to put their thoughts in writing on their own before using a tool that does that task for them.
“First, give the student the opportunity to work independently so their ideas and their agency is preserved and they have opportunities to build the skills that we want them to build,” Kendeou said.
She added that once students have already learned critical thinking, writing and other foundational skills, experts suggested that generative AI could be used in helpful ways to stress-test ideas, expand on an argument and look for more resources.
“If I were a teacher, I would definitely not provide access to my students if my goal is for them to develop certain skills,” Kendeou said. “I would provide access to such tools for my students if they already have developed a certain level of those skills… and I want them to be able to practice…to test themselves to be more creative and so on.”
There are several parts of learning that experts warned were at risk: cognitive thinking, learning skills, collaboration, social-emotional development and human connections.
“With AI in education, we cannot afford to get it wrong, because education is all we have in terms of educating the next generation of citizens,” Kendeou said. “The only way of getting this right is if we center and prioritize our kids and our teachers. Once they become the center, a lot of decisions will fall into place.”
