Schools are being told, in plain English: AI tools are only as smart as the data behind them

Schools are being told, in plain English: AI tools are only as smart as the data behind them

Parents and educators in Colorado, Louisiana, and Tennessee said data literacy matters more in the age of AI, but schools aren’t offering enough chances to learn it. The survey by Mathematica and Data Science for Everyone included 1,333 parents and educators, and it found that 58% said schools provide opportunities to develop this skill. Students need to know how to question where underlying data comes from, what might be wrong with it, and whether it’s applied correctly.

Gobble's Take: If schools want students to use AI wisely, they can’t skip the part where students learn to question the data behind it.
Source: EdWeek

A school conversation about AI hit a nerve fast: “If AI will do everything, then what’s the point of learning for us?”

At Freire Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, a discussion about designing a program focused on career exploration and social-emotional learning ran into AI’s shadow over school and work. The team had gathered teachers, students, family members, administrators, board members and community partners to build an equity-centered bridge between middle school and high school. The room went silent after a student asked that question, and that silence became the catalyst for change. The school’s guiding idea, drawn from Freire’s belief, is education as “the practice of freedom.”

Gobble's Take: Schools can’t ignore it when students are already asking what learning is for.
Source: EdSurge

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Schools are getting the same question from parents and teachers: what are we protecting?
• Massachusetts DESE issues guidance promoting "safe disclosure" in K-12 AI use
• AI detectors can flag the wrong kid, so the process matters as much as the product
• AI cheating concerns are real, but they’re not the only thing educators are watching