AI Unleashed: Singaporean Students Explore the Future of Learning
The Student Barometer, the largest survey of its kind globally, keeps up-to-date annually by including questions that focus on areas of developing concern to institutions and AI is clearly the topic for 2024. The questions will look into how students across the world are leveraging AI in their studies, evaluate the institutional support available for its use and reflect on how they feel AI will impact their future career paths.
Panel Insights: Navigating the Impact of AI in Education
This focus on AI created an excellent opportunity for meaningful dialogue, especially during SAPE's (Singapore Association of Private Education) annual conference in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands in late September. As Regional Director of Etio, I was lucky enough to chair a student-led panel at the conference; students shared their perspectives on how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping their education.
Addressing Academic Integrity
Students expressed concern over the misuse of AI in academic settings, a problem that had intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic's remote examinations. The challenge, according to students, continues even with in-person tests, evolving into a "cat and mouse" game where institutions strive to prevent cheating as some students devise innovative ways to bypass these measures using AI tools.
Promoting Ethical AI Use
Students urged institutions to offer introductory courses on common AI tools, such as chatbots and image generators, including examples of AI misuse. They suggested comparing AI-generated and human-generated content to help their peers distinguish and aspire toward higher quality work. Educating students about AI's pitfalls and limitations, they argued, will lead to a more informed and cautious approach to its use. One student pointed out that “we need to use AI to benefit us rather than be dependent on it." - So AI should be approached very much as a supplementary tool and institutions should teach students how to access and how to ‘prompt’ effectively. It’s really about asking the right question in the right way!
Transforming Learning and Assessments
Despite these concerns, students recognised AI as a powerful educational tool that can enhance learning through more personalised experiences and improved concept understanding, provided it is used responsibly. To avoid over-dependency on AI, which can prevent the development of critical problem-solving skills, they suggested evolving academic assessments to focus on deeper understanding and critical thinking. "The level of questioning must definitely be higher so that the students can really showcase their understanding" stated one student panellist. Comparisons were made with the calculator where its usage can allow students to be tested to a higher level.
Audience Engagement: Future of AI in Education
During the panel discussion, students were posed several intriguing questions by the audience, sparking further exploration of AI's impact on education.
One question focused on the potential for AI-mediated courses in the future, speculating on the possibility of education without teachers. Students expressed a range of opinions, from enthusiasm about AI's capability to provide a guided personalised learning experience, to concerns about the loss of human interaction and guidance.
Another topic of interest was the role of parents, particularly in managing primary school children's access to AI. Students noted the importance of parental involvement in monitoring and guiding AI use, stressing that parents should become educated on AI tools to ensure their responsible use in learning.
Finally, students shared their visions for AI's future development. Many anticipated AI becoming more seamlessly integrated into everyday educational tools, enhancing learning while also emphasising the importance of critical thinking and ethical considerations in AI use.
Preparing for an AI-Integrated Future
In conclusion, panellists viewed AI's future in education as inevitable, anticipating a more seamless integration into everyday tools such as browsers, emails and spreadsheets. However, they stressed the importance of managing AI integration with care, implementing sound regulations, fostering responsible usage, adapting educational practices, and preparing students to critically evaluate AI outputs. As we launch this year’s Barometer survey it will be fascinating to see the global responses of students to these issues. More to follow!
