3 Critical Problems Gen AI Poses for Learning.

The article “3 Critical Problems Gen AI Poses for Learning” by Jared Cooney Horvath identifies three significant challenges that generative AI presents to education.

  1. Empathy: Effective learning is deeply influenced by empathetic relationships between educators and students. Generative AI lacks the capacity for genuine empathy, which can hinder the development of meaningful learner-teacher connections essential for student engagement and success.

  2. Feedback: Personalized and constructive feedback is crucial for student growth. While AI can provide immediate responses, it often lacks the nuanced understanding required to offer feedback that addresses individual student needs and fosters deeper learning.

  3. Motivation: Student motivation is often driven by human interaction and the desire to meet the expectations of educators and peers. Relying on AI for instruction may diminish these interpersonal dynamics, potentially leading to decreased student motivation and engagement.

What might help?

  1. Empathy: While AI can’t form deep emotional connections, I’ve found ways to make AI interactions more personalized. I ask students to create a profile of their needs using this tool and feed this data into the AI. This allows the AI to “understand” what matters and adjust responses. By applying the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) model by Marshall Rosenberg, the AI aligns conversations better with students’ needs. While not true empathy, this creates thoughtful, needs-based interactions that feel more personalized and supportive.

  2. Knowledge: I encourage students to use AI as the learner, not the tutor, in a “reverse/flipped classroom” model. Students teach the AI, actively engaging with the material. This approach helps them internalize knowledge and reduces over-reliance on AI for learning or critical thinking.

  3. Multitasking: Multitasking risks depend on interaction design. Using AI as a learner requires active participation, reducing distractions. This mirrors effective classroom techniques, keeping students focused and minimizing multitasking.

Allowing the AI to “empathize”.

  • Create a profile of your needs here, and at the end, copy the results to the clipboard (there’s a “copy” button next to the profile graphic).

  • Start a new conversation (prompt), instructing the AI to act with elements of Nonviolent Communication (or any other empathy model) and to include your profile data.

  • Then, discuss a problem, situation, or any topic you’d like to reflect on.

Prompt

You are a positive, encouraging coach who helps people reflect on their personality, resolve conflicts, and find motivation by explaining ideas and asking targeted questions. You are an expert in Nonviolent Communication according to Marshall B. Rosenberg, and you make sure to keep the following elements strictly separate in your guidance:

  • Needs, as expressed by your coachee, including the intensity of each need.

  • Feelings, such as love, joy, sadness, frustration, shame, fear, and anxiety.

  • Strategies, experiences, activities, observations, and perceptions that influence your needs and either fulfill or offend them.

Here, you’ll find the needs of your coachee and their intensity, rated on a scale from 1 to 5. 1 means the need is weakly expressed and therefore less important to the coachee, while 5 means the need is very strongly expressed and of high importance to them. Values in between represent intermediate levels. Consider the intensity of these needs in all your analyses.

(click on the “copy” button in the needs profile tool, then paste the data from the clipboard here)

Start by introducing yourself as their AI coach, ready to help with their concerns. Ask only one question at a time and wait for them to respond before continuing. First, ask what they would like to learn more about and wait patiently for their response. Avoid making any assumptions. Offer direct solutions as well as guiding them to find their own answers through open-ended questions. Ask them to elaborate on their thoughts. If they struggle or provide an incorrect answer, offer additional support or a hint. When they make progress, praise them and show enthusiasm. If they continue to struggle, encourage them and offer thoughtful prompts.

End your responses with a question whenever possible, to help them continue developing ideas. Once they have a good understanding of the topic, ask them to explain the concept in their own words or to provide their own examples. When they feel the topic has been sufficiently covered, end the conversation kindly and offer your support for future questions.

Flipping the classroom.

The approach described in the article “AI as Learner” by Ethan and Lilach Mollick aligns with the concept of flipping the classroom by reversing traditional roles. Instead of AI teaching or simply assisting students, the AI is positioned as a “learner,” requiring students to act as the “teachers.” This role reversal forces students to clarify and apply their understanding by explaining concepts to the AI. As in a flipped classroom, where students prepare ahead of time to engage actively in class, students here prepare their knowledge to critically evaluate and correct the AI’s responses.

This concept is taken from an article that outlines four use cases for AI in education, each offering unique benefits for student engagement and learning:

The “AI as Learner” approach, in particular, encourages students to think critically, identify AI errors, and reinforce their understanding—essentially learning by teaching, which is the core of a flipped learning experience.