#studentagency — Public Fediverse posts

Why prompting should not be our focus when teaching students about AI

This is a sketch of a much longer piece of work I need to write:

• The role of prompting is diminishing is diminishing as chatbots develop because they increasingly infer and pre-empt what the user shares. It’s no longer a crucial skill for using them effectively and we need to avoid presenting it as if it is.
• As Essien et al put it, “agency in prompting does not automatically produce learning; without reflective regulation, it may become only efficient prompting”. The student might still treat uncritically accept outputs, outsource to a self-defeating degree or engage in malpractice while nonetheless prompting effectively.
• It’s hard to talk about prompting without veering into the terrain of ‘prompt engineering’. This is a contingent feature of the discourse but there’s a whole theory of what models are implicit in the notion of ‘prompt engineering’ which is really unhelpful for learning: imagining prompting as a form of natural language coding through which you unlock the machine.
• The language of prompting also lends itself to thinking about single-shot interaction which is now how you use a chatbot in reflective and thoughtful ways. Again there’s nothing necessary about this but the discourse constraints our capacity to emphasise the dialogical element as essential while still talking about prompting.
• If we see the use of chatbots for learning in terms of dialogue, then we need a dialogical vocabulary for thinking about it. What makes for a better or worse conversation? What is the student bringing to the model? How are they greeting the responses of the chatbot? How does the interaction unfold through these dynamics over time? This is the terrain we need to work on and again I think the language gets in the way.
• The capabilities involved in this are much more like literacy more broadly than the language of prompting can really account for. To write fluently, confidently and thoughtfully equips you to prompt effectively. To draw upon a range of references in expansive and relevant ways unlocks the capability of the model to respond to complexity. If we talk about this as ‘prompting’ we redescribe what are relatively familiar aspirations of humanistic education in an unhelpful way. This also obscures inequalities of cultural capital in who can do this and who cannot do it.

I realise in writing this my problem is less with prompting and more on prioritising it and the conceptual baggage which comes with it. Instead I suggest the focus needs to be on student agency when using chatbots. Essien et al again:

When students maintain control over goals, prompts, evaluation, and final judgement, the feared risk of cognitive atrophy may be reduced (Yang et al. 2024), and AI may function less as a surrogate and more as a dialogic partner (Krakowski 2025). This aligns with warnings that passive AI use may weaken learning (Linde- baum et al. 2025).

So perhaps I’d see student agency as composed of (a) prompting skills (b) literacy (c) critical AI literacy?

Ali Darvishi, Hassan Khosravi, Shazia Sadiq, Dragan Gašević, George Siemens: Impact of AI assistance on student agency https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131523002440? via%3Dihub=&s=09 our study in the context of providing AI assistance with writing feedback suggests that students tended to rely on AI assistance rather than actively learning from it. #EIEd #GenAI #Studentagency #teknologiforståelse #skolechat

3 Pillars of High-quality Blended Learning
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Catlin Tucker continues to lead the way in blended learning. Her most recent post outlines the three pillars of high-quality blended learning.

Tucker describes the three pillars of successful blended learning are student agency, different
https://mikepaul.com/3-pillars-of-high-quality-blended-learning/
#BlendedLearning #CatlinTucker #differentiation #PaceOfLearning #StudentAgency #students #teachers

Schools Prioritizing Social-Emotional Learning See Strong Academic Benefits
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A new, comprehensive report from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research delves into the critical period of adolescence, a time of significant growth and c
https://mikepaul.com/schools-prioritizing-social-emotional-learning-see-strong-academic-benefits/
#family #SchoolCommunity #sel #SocialEmotionalLearning #StudentAgency #StudentCentered #StudentSupport #students

The Power of Creation in Education: Lessons from Rodney Mullen
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In the world of skateboarding, Rodney Mullen is a legend. Known as the godfather of modern street skating, Mullen's journey from a farm boy in Florida to a world-renowned skateboarder is a testament to the
https://mikepaul.com/the-power-of-creation-in-education-lessons-from-rodney-mullen/
#AuthenticWork #creating #education #innovation #making #skateboarding #StudentAgency #students

Beyond Homework: The Evolution of the Flipped Classroom
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As the landscape of education continues to evolve in response to global disruptions and digital advancements, blended learning models have surged in popularity. Among these is the flipped classroom model, a
https://mikepaul.com/2023/07/08/beyond-homework-the-evolution-of-the-flipped-classroom/
#BlendedLearning #CatlinTucker #edtech #FlippedClassroom #InstructionalStrategies #StudentAgency #udl

“The Precipice” – A Call to Action for Modern Education: Embracing Existential Risk and Our Students’ Future
In the sphere of educational research, we continually aim to find ways to deepen student learning, foster student agency, and promote equity. As we de
https://mikepaul.com/2023/07/08/the-precipice-a-call-to-action-for-modern-education-embracing-existential-risk-and-our-students-future/
#books #BooksIRead #edtech #education #EducationPolicy #humanity #StudentAgency #TobyOrd

Unleashing Potential: Understanding the Power of Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset in Education
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When it comes to personal growth and learning, the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset is huge. In simplest terms, a growth mindset is when you believe
https://mikepaul.com/2023/05/30/unleashing-potential-understanding-the-power-of-growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset-in-education/
#education #GrowthMindset #StudentAgency #students #teachers

It Takes Practice to Become an Expert
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

To become an expert at something, you have to practice that something.

Doctors and lawyers often use the term "practice" to describe their daily work.

Educators are the same. We practice every day. And we get a little better ever
https://mikepaul.com/2023/05/17/it-takes-practice-to-become-an-expert/
#books #DeeperLearning #education #EducationPolicy #StudentAgency #StudentCentered #students #teachers

A recap of this past week's board meeting featuring, one more time, kind words about our Future Shift Fellowship. Oh, and some other really cool work done by a couple of young ladies. I'm patiently waiting for their Kickstarter campaign to launch... https://www.pmg-ky2.com/kystandard/bardstown-city-schools-aims-to-create-safer-schools/article_7393b13c-b1a0-5bd8-b9d2-16264ce4c9c9.html

#education #deeperlearning #studentagency #edtech #4shifts