Generative AI is a powerful tool that can be used to support teachers and students. Unfortunately, just as AI can be used to generate lesson plans, provide helpful feedback, and serve as a personalized tutor, it can also be used to write a paper, provide answers, and do students’ work.
This week, I want to highlight a substack post critiquing a recent research article. The author critically examines a widely referenced paper claiming that increased AI use degrades critical thinking skills. Pookins argues that the study’s design and methodology are fundamentally flawed: the sample isn’t representative, the survey measures self-reported beliefs rather than actual critical thinking performance, and many items intended to measure different constructs are essentially redundant. Because of these flaws, he asserts that the paper does not provide reliable evidence that AI use causes a decline in critical thinking, meaning that its frequent citation in media and academic discussions may be misleading or premature. Moreover, he points to evidence that the paper itself may have been AI-generated.