Orlando, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — AI is quickly becoming part of the school routine. One recent report found 86 percent of students and 85 percent of teachers used AI during the 2024–2025 school year. It can help with brainstorming, studying, and feedback but some researchers worry it may also make students less likely to do the thinking for themselves. A study in the British Journal of Educational Technology found tools like Chat GPT may promote what researchers call “metacognitive laziness,” or a dependence on the technology that can get in the way of deeper learning.
Ask AI to explain a math problem, summarize a chapter, or brainstorm an essay. While AI can help students study or check their work, it can also make it easy to skip the thinking part.
“I’m sure a lot of kids would be honest, but others won’t be,” said John Burford IV, Founder and President of Magnolia Prep.
Some of the easiest ways to cheat: tell AI to write your essay for you. Some college admissions departments are even scratching their essay requirements due to concerns that students are using AI. It’s also common to use AI for online tests or to answer homework questions.
“Like okay, I’m just going to upload this worksheet, and they’ll just do everything for me,” said Burford.
So how can you help your child navigate AI? Start with a simple rule: AI can help you learn, but it can’t do the learning for you.
“Just kind of laying out like, ‘Hey listen, I know that yes, you’re technically able to do so and so, but it’s wrong and you shouldn’t,’” explained Burford.
Be specific about what’s off-limits and if your child uses AI, make sure they can still explain the answer in their own words.
Next, teach them to use AI as a coach, not a ghostwriter.
That means using it to brainstorm, build a study guide, or get feedback on a draft they wrote themselves. And make “verify it” part of the routine. AI can be wrong, so if it gives an answer, have your child check it against class notes, the textbook, or a trusted source from the teacher.
And one more thing to watch for this school year: if your child’s writing suddenly sounds nothing like them, overly formal, vague, or filled with words they’d never use, that may be a clue AI did more of the work than it should have.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Bob Walko, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.engageli.com/blog/ai-in-education-statistics
https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/bjet.13544
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/20/health/using-ai-for-homework-wellness
