A student can learn to ask an AI tool for a clearer explanation. The next question is what the student does with the response. A lesson about AI should give them a way to examine it and decide whether it belongs in the work they are doing.
UNESCO announces its AI competency frameworks for students and teachers on 3 September 2024 during Digital Learning Week. The student framework connects technical knowledge with human agency and ethical judgment. It presents educational aims for engaging critically with AI. Read UNESCO’s announcement.
An AI literacy lesson can begin with a decision learners are able to explain. Knowing how to request an output is useful. Schools should also give students opportunities to examine the grounds for accepting a claim and the consequences of using it.
Give students something to investigate
Consider a hypothetical activity using a short AI-generated explanation of a topic familiar to the class. The teacher could provide the explanation alongside a passage from an agreed reference. Students would identify a claim they can check and describe what the reference lets them conclude.
The aim would be to make the checking process visible. A student who finds agreement should explain where it appears and whether the source supports the full claim. If the comparison leaves a question unresolved, the task should give the learner a way to record that uncertainty.
We would ask the teacher to review the materials in advance. The example should be suitable for the learners’ knowledge, with enough information available for them to investigate it. A task that depends on specialist facts outside the course would make the exercise difficult to interpret.
Students could then revise a sentence and explain their choice. The teacher would assess the explanation against the evidence supplied. A discussion of the changes students make would help the teacher decide what to explore in the next lesson.
Bring decisions into the lesson
Another activity could ask learners to consider whether AI is suitable for a particular task. For example, a class planning an interview with a local resident could discuss which parts of the preparation require the person’s own account. Students would explain the information they need and how they intend to obtain it.
The teacher should allow a reasoned decision to leave the tool unused. Learners need room to identify cases where they want direct observation or a conversation with someone who has relevant experience. The quality of their reasoning should determine the feedback they receive.
We would keep a short record of these decisions across several lessons. Over time, the teacher could look for changes in how students justify a choice and seek support for a claim. That record would help guide the next lesson without treating a single successful exercise as proof of broad competence.