NC educators navigate AI's role in education while they ensure students develop critical thinking

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- As students return to the classrooms in North Carolina, how they learn is rapidly changing.

State leaders, teachers and schools are increasingly exploring how AI can support learning while ensuring students continue to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

"We're thinking about what could best practice look like in the classroom," said Meredith Ward Hill, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's emerging technologies consultant.

North Carolina was among the first states in the nation to release AI guidance for schools in 2024. The recommendations serve as a resource for local districts as they develop their own policies and classroom practices.

"We really want to develop AI awareness starting in elementary school, moving to AI literacy in middle school," Ward Hill said. "And then the ultimate goal is AI fluency in high school."

The state is also focusing on how teachers can use AI effectively as an instructional tool.

"It very much for teachers specifically, particularly about instructional design and wanting to use AI in such a way that it increases cognitive load and increases student thinking, supports critical thinking and problem solving instead of replaces that," Ward Hill said.

She explained the guidelines are a living document, which has been updated as education leaders gain a better understanding of AI utilization, as well as cybersecurity considerations and legislative action.

"We're always thinking about centering human judgment, centering student agency, educator agency," said Ward Hill.

Currently, 41.6% of the state's school districts have their own AI guidelines, though all public school districts must implement an AI policy by June 2027.

"(DPI is) just providing districts with a model policy that they can choose to either adopt verbatim, or they can choose to work with their school boards and their legal team to edit," said Ward Hill.

According to state officials, just over 40% of North Carolina school districts currently have their own AI guidelines. All districts will be required to adopt an AI policy by June 2027.

As public school districts work to determine how best to incorporate the technology, some schools are building entire educational models around AI.

Alpha Raleigh, a private school that opened last year, uses AI tutors as a central component of its curriculum through a two-hour academic model. Students spend the remainder of the day developing skills such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

"We're able to use AI in a way that personalizes student's learning and also makes learning more efficient so that we're able to have time in the afternoon to really do, I would say, the magic of school work, which is building life skills, having students really understand what it means to be a contributor to a community, how to build grit and build the skills that we think students need for the future," said Dr. Tasha Arnold, head of Alpha Schools.

Arnold said the model allows instruction to be tailored to individual students' needs and learning pace.

"You're getting what you need right when you need it every single day. That sort of efficient learning, it builds your self-esteem and self-concept," Arnold said. "(Students are) kind of racing and pacing against yourself, and you're getting what you need when you want. We look at that zone of proximal development and a child's being challenged right where they're at."

Arnold says AI utilization can also allow staff to focus more fully on students.

"I would say we can leverage AI in ways that can do some of the work that us as teachers don't need to do. I don't need to correct multiplication fast math sheets. But I do need to sit down with the kid and talk about what's going on in their life, talk about what it means to be a good classmate, build those cultural opportunities within a school," said Arnold.

AI allows for remote instruction, though Arnold believes in-person learning will remain popular in the future.

"I think one thing we know as parents are 20 years from now are still going to want to drop their children off at a brick-and-mortar building. It's great for building community, being around other classmates," Arnold explained.

She noted they are open to partnering with traditional schools to discuss AI integration.

As AI emerges, so does research into its impact on education. Findings from Stanford University highlight the growing number of academic papers on AI and K-12 education, though the overwhelming majority involve causal research.

However, educators have sounded the alarm on its impact. A poll from NPR/Ipsos released in June found that while 78% of K-12 teachers agreed that teaching responsible use of AI should be part of their school's curriculum, 55% believe it's viewed as a shortcut for students to avoid doing more work and 54% say it makes it harder for students to learn critical thinking skills.

"We don't want to outsource our critical thinking, our creativity, our problem-solving," Ward Hill said. "That needs to be maintained as something that is human."

SEE ALSO | AI and data centers reshape career choices, workforce demands