At TEAM Education Consulting, we strongly believe that education is a process, not a single event. Our mission has always been to empower students with the tools they need to take charge of their academic pursuits and to identify and guide them onto their best-fit path. In our increasingly digital world, navigating learning has brought new challenges. Students must now learn to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deepen understanding, amplify critical thinking, sharpen analytical writing, and strengthen their unique voice. However, this power comes with real risks, as there is great temptation to use AI as a shortcut, which can quietly erode the development of the very skills students should be working to build.
At TEAM, we encourage students to use AI using their full human intelligence.
The Positives: AI as a Catalyst for Inquiry
When integrated thoughtfully into a student’s learning, AI can serve as a personal tutor- providing step-by-step logic and clarification of complex concepts. Research indicates that generative AI’s immediate feedback and scaffolding of complex tasks make it a force multiplier for student inquiry (Kasneci et al., 2023).
Here are some ways to make positive use of these tools:
Clarifying Complex Concepts: Much like in the Socratic Book Groups that TEAM Education regularly runs, AI can help students break down dense material. For example, a student might ask AI to explain the various layers of irony in Orwell’s Animal Farm to better prepare for a class discussion.
- Brainstorming and Ideation: We know that one of the hardest parts of any new project is getting started. We strongly urge our students to develop their core idea or concept using their own thinking before allowing AI to assist. After the initial spark, however, AI can be an excellent partner, helping students flesh out research topics and outline their perspectives on a debate topic for further independent investigation.
- Time Management and Organization: High school success requires students to balance academic and extracurricular activities. At the most basic level, AI tools can help students organize their calendars and to-do lists. Students can identify potential conflicts and create work schedules to find time to do everything they need and want to accomplish!
The Pitfalls: AI as a Crutch
Over-reliance on AI carries significant risks
The Loss of Original Thinking: Our philosophy that students must develop the ability to think on their feet and analyze information critically is not merely a tactic for gaining college admissions, but rather a life skill essential to college and post-graduate success! Scholars have already noted that cognitive offloading, the habit of letting AI handle complex thinking, is preventing students from exercising the cognitive muscles required for college-level work (Lodge et al., 2023)
Academic Integrity and Admissions: Integrity is important at every level, including college admissions! At TEAM, we guide students to evaluate their own experiences and empower them to tell their stories. This process helps students develop the important power of self-reflection, build self-esteem, and create ownership of their narrative, ensuring that their stories are truly theirs. Using AI to draft application essays not only violates integrity but runs contrary to the very purpose of the college essay, which is to understand the student’s point of view in their own voice. Before submitting application essays, we recommend that students read them out loud… If a piece of writing doesn’t sound like them, it isn’t theirs, and we encourage them to rewrite it!
Risk of False Information: AI is a language model, not a search engine. It can, and often does, present false information as fact, a phenomenon known as hallucination (Ji et al., 2023). Students who rely on AI for research without verifying sources risk building their work on an inaccurate foundation. Overreliance on the AI “brain,” however, can diminish a student’s ability to identify falsehoods and render their own brains “lazy.”
What We Are Observing in Students: The Student Experience
At TEAM, we are observing a generation of students who are turning to AI not because they want to cheat, but because they feel increasingly pressured to perform at ever higher levels. The phenomenon, however, has led to a “shortcut” paradox:
· The Test-Prep Gap: Students are using tools to complete homework or practice problems correctly and on time. Unfortunately, using AI to complete work does not always translate into success on in-class assignments and exams, suggesting that AI-assisted practice may foster the feeling that students understand more than they actually do!
- Dipping Self-Confidence: Overreliance has also led to a noticeable dip in self-confidence. When students rely on AI to find their words, they begin to doubt their own ability to produce quality work independently, and, without realizing it, become consumers of information rather than creators!
TEAM Education Consulting’s Recommendation: A Roadmap for the Appropriate Use of AI
Based on our experience in our student sessions, we recommend a Think-First approach to using AI:
“Tell the Teacher Where It Hurts”: Neither teachers nor tutors can effectively help a student unless the student can clearly articulate what they find challenging. We urge students to collaborate with their instructors to think through problems and identify the right questions to ask. They can then use AI to further investigate topics or to practice. This process helps students build the critical thinking skills necessary for real learning.
Final Thoughts
At TEAM Education Consulting, we focus on each student’s individual interests, learning styles, and goals. We know that the most valuable outcome of the high school years isn’t just grades and where they attend college; it is the creative and critical thinking, resilience, self-understanding, communication skills, and confidence we build in our students that will contribute most critically to their ability to successfully navigate the future.
References
International Center for Academic Integrity. (2023). AI and academic integrity: Guidelines for students and educators. https://academicintegrity.org
Ji, Ziwei., Lee, N., Frieske, R., Yu, T., Su, D., Xu, Y., Ishii, E., Bang, Y., Madotto, A., & Fung, P. (2023). Survey of hallucination in natural language generation. ACM Computing Surveys, 55(12), 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1145/3571730
Kasneci, E., Sessler, K., Küchemann, S., Bannert, M., Dementieva, D., Fischer, F., Gasser, U., Groh, G., Günnemann, S., Hüllermeier, E., Krusche, S., Kutyniok, G., Michalczak, T., Nerdel, C., Pfeffer, J., Poquet, O., Sailer, M., Schmidt, A., Seidel, T., … Kasneci, G. (2023). ChatGPT for good? On opportunities and challenges of large language models for education. Learning and Individual Differences, 103, 102274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2023.102274
Lodge, J. M., de Barba, P., & Broadbent, J. (2023). Learning with generative AI: The roles of critical thinking and metacognition. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.18
Pew Research Center. (2023). Most parents and students are concerned about AI’s impact on education. https://www.pewresearch.org