Chapter 4: Learning important to balance attention to using AI to support learning and giving students opportunities to learn about AI. 4.5. A Challenge: Systems Thinking About AI in Education As AI expands into the educational system, our listening session attendees reminded us that it will be entering parts or locations of the system that are presently dysfunctional. AI is certainly not a fix for broken systems, and instead, must be used with even more care when the systems’ context is unstable or uncertain. “First and foremost, they are getting deployed in educational contexts that are already fragmented and broken and unequal. Technology doesn't discriminate—we do. So, as we think about the application of these new systems, we have to really think about the contextual application of AI.” —Dr. Nicole Turner As discussed previously, because AI systems and tools do not fully align with goals for learning, we have to design educational settings to situate AI in the right place, where educators and other adults can make effective use of these tools for teaching and learning. Within the ITS example, we saw that AI could make learning by practicing math problems more effective, and a whole curricular approach might include roles for teachers that emphasize mathematical practices like argumentation and modeling. Further, small-group work is likely to remain important: Students might work in small groups to use mathematics to predict or justify as they work on responding to a realistic challenge. At the present, one “right place” for people, and not AI, is understanding how learning can be culturally responsive and culturally sustaining, as AI is not even close to being ready to connect learning to the unique strengths in a student’s community and family. P a g e | 38
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