Students who rely on AI instead of learning deeply won't show expected level of mastery during exams: Desmond Lee

When introducing artificial intelligence (AI) to primary school students, teachers will guide them to form good learning habits when using the technology, Education Minister Desmond Lee said in Parliament on May 6.

This includes teaching students to be discerning about AI output, be responsible for the content they create, and understand the importance of upholding academic integrity.

"Schools will also teach students when they should not use AI, so that they do not take shortcuts to get answers without actual learning," Lee added.

He was responding to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) about safeguards to monitor the impact of early AI use at the primary level, and to prevent students' over-reliance on AI tools.

Safety guardrails

Previously in April, Lee shared at an education forum that AI will be introduced as part of the school curriculum from Primary 4.

Elaborating further on the plans in Parliament, he said that students in Primary 4 to 6 will only use AI tools specifically designed for education, and only under teacher supervision.

They include AI-enabled tools already introduced in the online learning portal Student Learning Space (SLS).

Lee acknowledged parents' concerns about exposing children to AI at an early age, and assured that these AI-enabled tools have in-built safety guardrails.

For instance, an AI learning assistant, with the help of prompts from the teacher, can offer personalised feedback to Primary 4 students in an English class to refine their writing.

As a guardrail, it will redirect students back on track if they veer off topic and ask irrelevant questions, or if they want to be spoon-fed with direct answers.

Academic integrity

To reinforce academic integrity, secondary school students using AI to complete tasks must state where they have used AI, and cite the sources of information.

"This helps to prepare them for post-secondary education, where they will be expected to use AI far more heavily in anticipation of what their future workplace might look like," Lee explained.

Any students who attempt to pass off AI-generated content as their own will have to bear the consequences of academic dishonesty.

Use of AI is also prohibited at national exams, which will continue to be proctored.

"If students use AI as a shortcut for their daily work instead of learning deeply, they will not be able to demonstrate the level of mastery expected during these exams," Lee said.

In cases where the use of AI is permitted in national exams, such as for coursework, teachers and supervisors will monitor students work to ensure that the AI use meets the objectives of the assessment.

Why from Primary 4?

Lee also responded to a parliamentary question on why Primary 4 had been chosen as the entry point for AI introduction.

He cited research showing that students around this age would have developed some executive functioning skills like planning, task initiation, and ability to evaluate their own thinking. They are able to begin to use simple digital tools to support their learning.

Noting the increasing accessibility of AI today, Lee said it is important for students, including younger ones, to develop overall awareness of AI in daily life.

"We should make use of AI to help our students learn, because they're going to use it anyway, whether you supervise them or not, they will use it," he added.

He asserted that it is "far better" to start AI literacy young and start guiding students to use AI for learning in a teacher-supervised environment.

As AI develops and more research on it is done, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will continue to calibrate and adjust its approach to the use of AI in education.