Most of today鈥檚 middle school students weren鈥檛 even born , an AI-activated voice assistant.
But despite growing up with AI鈥攁nd learning to write a five-paragraph essay at a time when ChatGPT can perform that task in seconds鈥攎iddle schoolers are well aware of AI鈥檚 pitfalls, including its tendency to get facts wrong and its potential to stifle their own learning, conducted by professors at Texas Christian University slated to be discussed at the ISTELive 25 + ASCD Annual Conference 25 in San Antonio June 29 to July 2.
A lot of the focus on AI literacy has been on high schoolers and college students. But middle schoolers are 鈥渞eally are thinking about this,鈥� said Michelle Bauml, a professor of education at TCU and one of the study鈥檚 authors. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not all in or all out at this point with generative AI.鈥�
The study included 43 students entering grades 6 through 9 who attended a free, week-long civics summer camp. Researchers surveyed the students both before and after a lesson on the benefits, risks, and ethics surrounding generative AI.
The team also conducted two focus groups鈥攐ne with six students, the other with seven students鈥攁sking about the potential positives, drawbacks, and reliability of GenAI.
Many students use AI, but largely without adult guidance
The survey found that 60% of students had used GenAI tools at some point, including 15% who used it at least once a week, the survey found. More than half learned to use GenAI platforms on their own, while about a quarter learned from a teacher.
That finding stood out to Sue Anderson, another author and a professor of education at Texas Christian University.
鈥淭hese kids are using it, but they鈥檙e not necessarily getting adult guidance,鈥� she said.
After the AI lesson鈥攚hich was informed by resources from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization focused on kids and technology鈥攖here was a 20% increase in the number of students saying they knew 鈥渁 great deal鈥� about AI. Both before and after the survey, most students said they saw AI as 鈥渟omewhat鈥� accurate and trustworthy.
Students don鈥檛 fully trust AI, and they worry it could hurt their learning
None of the 13 students who participated in focus groups believed it was a good idea to trust every piece of information generated by AI. They worried AI would unearth biased, outdated, or just plain wrong information.
More strikingly, many worried about what relying on AI might do to their own skills.
Students in the focus groups worried that regular use of AI writing tools might 鈥渟tunt鈥� their learning and creativity and make them too dependent on technology. They were also wary of losing their authentic voice to chatbots.
鈥淸Using AI] wouldn鈥檛 feel sincere. It wouldn鈥檛 feel like it was from you,鈥� one student said, according to the report.
Some also said they鈥檇 steer clear of using AI鈥檚 help with a capstone project for the camp鈥攁 group presentation and public service announcement on a community issue, such as animal welfare or food insecurity.
AI couldn鈥檛 create a presentation as interesting as students鈥� own products, one student said. 鈥淚 just feel like we鈥檙e at a stage [of our project] that鈥檚 more creativity-based. And AI isn鈥檛 really good at creativity,鈥� the student told researchers.
Others raised concerns about accuracy. One told researchers they didn鈥檛 want to use AI because all the information in their final presentation needed to 鈥渂e 100% true.鈥�
Not all students are rejecting AI, but many are still unsure
Still, not all students were turned off from ever using AI. Roughly 35% thought they would use GenAI for school assignments in the future. Another 37% were not sure if they would use it, and 28% did not plan to use it for school assignments.
Given how many middle school students are already using AI, schools need to step up their instruction on the technology, the report concluded.
鈥淜nowing that they鈥檙e going to use it, whether teachers like it or not, it鈥檚 important for adults to provide guidance,鈥� Anderson said. Middle school teachers need to help their students delve into questions such as: 鈥淗ow does AI work? When can you use it? What ethical considerations do you need to keep in mind when you use it?鈥� Anderson said.
Teachers will need professional development to have the background knowledge to help students tackle those questions, she added.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still kind of in the wild west of AI, right?鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just experimenting. Products are coming out all the time. Teachers don鈥檛 always feel like they have the knowledge to teach kids or guide kids to use this.鈥�
But when presented with a lesson on AI, middle schoolers鈥攁t least the ones that the summer camp鈥攈ave the capacity for nuanced thinking about the technology, Bauml said.
The students 鈥渄emonstrate[ed] this critical thinking鈥� about AI, Bauml said. 鈥淎nd isn鈥檛 that what we want? For our citizens not just to accept any source that comes in front of [them] or any tool, but to really weigh benefits and drawbacks?鈥�
