Does AI actually help students learn? A recent experiment in a high school provides a cautionary tale.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that Turkish high school students who had access to ChatGPT while doing practice math problems did worse on a math test compared with students who didn’t have access to ChatGPT. Those with ChatGPT solved 48 percent more of the practice problems correctly, but they ultimately scored 17 percent worse on a test of the topic that the students were learning.

A third group of students had access to a revised version of ChatGPT that functioned more like a tutor. This chatbot was programmed to provide hints without directly divulging the answer. The students who used it did spectacularly better on the practice problems, solving 127 percent more of them correctly compared with students who did their practice work without any high-tech aids. But on a test afterwards, these AI-tutored students did no better. Students who just did their practice problems the old fashioned way — on their own — matched their test scores.

  • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Because AI and previously google searches are not a substitute for having knowledge and experience. You can learn by googling something and reading about how something works so you can figure out answers for yourself. But googling for answers will not teach you much. Even if it solves a problem, you won’t learn how. And won’t be able to fix something in the future without googling th answer again.

    If you dont learn how to do something, you won’t be experienced enough to know when you are doing it wrong.

    I use google to give me answers all the time when im problem solving. But i have to spend a lot more time after the fact to learn why what i did fixed the problem.

    • prosp3kt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 months ago

      Nope, this doesn’t work like this. sometimes you need someone to explain, specially on math, youtube can take that spot, but not always.

      • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        That’s what i am saying. You need to learn it. If someone explains it to you, then you are learning. If someone gives you the answer, then you dont understand it, so you are less good at said something.

        You agree with me…