The problem with an AI tutor: Students don’t want to use it
Chalkbeat Ideas is a section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. If you build it, they may not use it. This is the emerging problem with artificial intelligence tools designed to help students learn. The latest evidence is a new study finding that middle school students rarely used an AI-powered…
Middle school students are underutilizing AI-powered tutoring tools, according to a recent study. The study, conducted with the help of Khanmigo, an AI chatbot from the Khan Academy program, found that students rarely engaged with the AI tool. Founders of Khanmigo, Sal Khan, and researchers, like University of Toronto's Philip Oreopoulos, have expressed that most students do not use AI tutors as effective learning aids.
While Khanmigo was designed to respond to questions without giving away answers, many students used it off-topic or to get direct answers. Despite making faster math gains in the study, it was the interaction with Khan Academy's traditional lessons and practice, rather than Khanmigo, that led to improvements. Khanmigo's developers have since redesigned its interface to better integrate the AI and encourage its use.
However, research suggests that students often don't engage with AI tutors, which could limit the potential benefits of personalized learning.
Written by urgent.news from Chalkbeat's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
