Hey educator!
If you are currently studying for your Certificate III, Diploma, or Bachelor in Early Childhood Education and Care, Primary Education, or any other education field, there is something I want you to pay attention to.
In the age of AI, it can seem like we have a tool that is incredibly helpful.
However, it can also steal our ability to learn and think for ourselves.
We need to understand the research behind writing to learn.
Writing helps us learn when we use it not only to make notes, but also to ask questions and explain ideas to ourselves. For example, research on self-explanation, such as the work published in 1989, looked at the moments when learners stop understanding something. Self-explanation involves explaining what you have learned to yourself, and this process can help you identify where your understanding breaks down.
This is also where AI can be useful, and this is very important.
Before you even ask AI to explain something to you, such as Lev Vygotsky, you need to write down, jot down, or say out loud what you already know.
Start with your own thinking. Write what you know about scaffolding, ZPD, social learning , culture. Then use AI to help you identify gaps, ask better questions, challenge your thinking, or clarify something you don’t understand. That way, AI becomes a learning tool rather than a replacement for learning.
Kate – Storykate
