In this blog post, I want to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is used in education and how it might affect students’ learning abilities. AI has been a subject of interest in education for the past 50 years, as noted by Holmes et al. (2019).
In a discussion forum post, I recently highlighted ten ways AI is used in education, including personalized learning, task automation, and smart content creation (Sirois, 2022). These are just a few examples of how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to improve education and learning through edtech.
Adaptive learning systems, such as Squirrel AI Learning, are one specific application of AI in education. According to Wang et al. (2020), these systems have significantly improved student performance in mathematics in China. Furthermore, in two studies, students who used Squirrel AI Learning independently outperformed those who received instruction from expert teachers, regardless of prior knowledge, gender, age, or parental education. These findings imply that adaptive learning systems can effectively accommodate individual students’ knowledge and learning needs and may be more effective than traditional classroom instruction. More research is needed, however, to confirm these findings and investigate the effectiveness of adaptive learning systems in other grade levels, subjects, and academic contexts.
While the use of AI in education has great potential, it is also important to consider the potential risks and ethical concerns. According to Hagerty and Rubinov (2019), the use of AI in education can widen the digital divide and reinforce existing social inequalities, potentially resulting in the exclusion of certain communities and disproportionately affecting marginalized groups such as women and racial and ethnic minorities. As a result, it is critical to address these issues to ensure that all students have equal access and opportunities to benefit from AI advancements in education.
References
Hagerty, A., & Rubinov, I. (2019). Global AI Ethics: A Review of the Social Impacts and Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence. ArXiv:1907.07892 [Cs].https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.07892
Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education: promises and implications for teaching and learning. The Center For Curriculum Redesign.
Sirois, J. (2022, December 17). AI and EdTech: Amplifying Social Inequalities. Royal Roads University. https://moodle.royalroads.ca/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=917405#p3539529
Wang, S., Christensen, C., Cui, W., Tong, R., Yarnall, L., Shear, L., & Feng, M. (2020). When adaptive learning is effective learning: comparison of an adaptive learning system to teacher-led instruction. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1808794
Hi Jess,
Did the study you looked at explain how Squirrel was used to impact student performance? In your exploration did you identify other disciplinary contexts that found AI beneficial? This post feels incomplete as I would love to hear more of your perspective in it. What do you see as the value of this innovation and what concerns do you have about it?