{"id":94272,"date":"2025-01-17T11:40:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T16:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/?p=94272"},"modified":"2025-01-17T13:14:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T18:14:48","slug":"ai-tutoring-shows-stunning-results-world-bank-ai-is-unavoidable-not-inevitable-watkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/danielschristian.com\/learning-ecosystems\/2025\/01\/17\/ai-tutoring-shows-stunning-results-world-bank-ai-is-unavoidable-not-inevitable-watkins\/","title":{"rendered":"“AI tutoring shows stunning results” [World Bank] + “AI Is Unavoidable, Not Inevitable.” [Watkins]"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI Is Unavoidable, Not Inevitable<\/strong><\/a> — from marcwatkins.substack.com by Marc Watkins<\/p>\n

I had the privilege of moderating a discussion between Josh Eyler and Robert Cummings about the future of AI in education at the University of Mississippi\u2019s recent AI Winter Institute for Teachers. I work alongside both in faculty development here at the University of Mississippi. Josh\u2019s position on AI sparked a great deal of debate on social media:
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\nTo make my position clear about the current AI in education discourse I want to highlight several things under an umbrella of \u201cit\u2019s very complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most importantly, we all deserve some grace here. Dealing with generative AI in education isn\u2019t something any of us asked for. It isn\u2019t normal. It isn\u2019t fixable by purchasing a tool or telling faculty to simply \u2018prefer not to\u2019 use AI. It is and will remain unavoidable for virtually every discipline taught at our institutions.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If one good thing happens because of generative AI let it be that it helps us clearly see how truly complicated our existing relationships with machines are now. As painful as this moment is, it might be what we need to help prepare us for a future where machines that mimic reasoning and human emotion refuse to be ignored.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“AI tutoring shows stunning results.”
\n<\/strong>See below article.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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From chalkboards to chatbots: Transforming learning in Nigeria, one prompt at a time<\/strong><\/a> — from blogs.worldbank.org by Mart\u00edn E. De Simone, Federico Tiberti, Wuraola Mosuro, Federico Manolio, Maria Barron, and Eliot Dikoru<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Learning gains were striking
\n<\/strong>The learning improvements were striking\u2014about 0.3 standard deviations. To put this into perspective, this is\u00a0equivalent\u00a0to nearly two years of typical learning in just six weeks.<\/strong> <\/span>When we compared these results to a\u00a0database of education interventions\u00a0studied through randomized controlled trials in the developing world, our program outperformed 80% of them, including some of the most cost-effective strategies like structured pedagogy and teaching at the right level. This achievement is particularly remarkable given the short duration of the program and the likelihood that our evaluation design underestimated the true impact.
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\nOur evaluation demonstrates the transformative potential of generative AI in classrooms, especially in developing contexts.<\/i><\/span>\u00a0To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impact of generative AI as a virtual tutor in such settings, building on promising evidence from other contexts and formats; for example, on\u00a0AI in coding<\/a>\u00a0classes, AI and learning<\/a>\u00a0in one school in Turkey, teaching\u00a0math with AI<\/a>\u00a0(an example through WhatsApp in\u00a0Ghana<\/a>), and\u00a0AI as a homework tutor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Comments on this article from The Rundown AI:<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Why it matters:\u00a0<\/b>This represents one of the first rigorous studies showing major real-world impacts in a developing nation. The key appears to be using AI as a complement to teachers rather than a replacement \u2014 and results suggest that AI tutoring could help address the global learning crisis, particularly in regions with teacher shortages.<\/p>\n

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Other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n