I attended a webinar on AI in education this week. One thing really stuck with me.
They split students into three groups for a math study:
- Group 1 Regular ChatGPT — ask, get answer, move on.
- Group 2 ChatGPT configured as a tutor — hints and questions only, no direct answers.
- Group 3 No AI.
When they removed the AI for the final test: Group 1 performed worse than the students who used no AI at all. Group 2 outperformed everyone.
Like using Google Maps to drive two blocks from your house. Every single day. Until the signal drops and you genuinely don't know how to get home.
The biggest concern parents should have is when their kids use AI in monologue mode. Ask, copy, paste. One direction. The cognitive work stays with the model.
Think about a history essay on Albert Einstein.
Monologue
"Write me a 300 word essay on Albert Einstein." Four minutes later, generic facts any Wikipedia page would give you. E=MC2. Genius. Changed physics. The end.
Dialogue
"Help me understand who Einstein really was." AI asks: what surprised you about him? The kid starts digging. Discovers the man who rewrote physics couldn't remember his own phone number. Forgot his home address. Needed his wife to manage his entire life. Suddenly there's a real essay. A real opinion. Something the kid actually wants to write.
Same assignment. Same AI. Four minutes vs. forty. One produces a grade. The other produces a thought.
Most parents ask: is my kid using AI for homework? The better question: is my kid talking to it, or just copying from it?
Einstein asked more questions than he answered. If your kid's chat history looks the same, they might be following in his footsteps.
That's the right direction.