🤖 Critical Thinking with AI Education Pathway
Exploring Responsible AI Use in Higher Learning
An evolving series of student-led projects from the Responsible Innovation Lab
🌟 Overview
AI is transforming education, but not always for the better.
Over the past year, the Responsible Innovation Lab has explored how to foster critical, creative, and ethical use of AI tools in academic settings — moving beyond shortcuts to cultivate deeper thinking.
These student-driven projects aim to help both peers and educators understand how AI can be a thinking partner — not a substitute for learning.
🗂 Project Pathway: AI in Education
1️⃣ Foundational Inquiry: Are Students Being Taught to Use AI Wisely?
Student Lead: Maddilyn Lee (Spring 2024)
Poster → View Poster PDF
Key Questions Explored:
Are ASU’s current tutoring services teaching responsible AI use?
What models are other universities using?
How can AI support — not replace — critical student skills?
What risks do students face (bias, privacy, over-reliance)?
Highlights:
Surveyed peer tutoring models using AI (Chegg, Khanmigo, Walden, M-Write).
Identified need for professor-aligned AI guidance.
Recommended integration of responsible use training across tutoring centers and started the AI Education Pathway for the RIL.
2️⃣ Building Better Thinkers: AI as a Thinking Partner
Team: Matthew Agustin, Mandi Myers, Hannah Franklin (Spring 2025)
Poster → View Poster PDF
Video Course → Watch Full Modules
Course Created:
5 Modules / 26 Segments
Animated, story-driven, inclusive design
Pedagogy: active learning, reflective prompts, learner personas
Grounded in the INNOVATE Framework and Responsible Innovation Principles
4 Core Videos (linked on page with embedded player):
Full Playlist is here.
Key Insights:
| Passive AI Use | AI as a Thinking Partner |
|---|---|
| Accepts answers uncritically | Fact-checks & refines responses |
| Uses AI for shortcuts | Uses AI for structured brainstorming |
| Relies on AI to “think” | Uses AI to provoke deeper thought |
| Reinforces bias | Actively interrogates responses for fairness |
| Treats AI as authority | Treats AI as a debate partner |
Quote from Pilot Learner:
“I used to let AI do the work. Now I make it debate me.”
This is more than just college chatbot tips. This is a new paradigm in learning to learn.
🔍 What’s Next
Future Work:
Broader course rollout across ASU
Institutional partnerships to integrate critical AI literacy
Expansion into other future-ready learning skills
Invitation:
We’re not just teaching students how to use AI — we’re teaching them how to think with it.
Join us in exploring what’s next for AI in education.
Acknowledgments
AI assistance provided by Mave (Responsible Innovation Lab), ChatGPT-4 (critically evaluated).
Mentor: Chris Deaton
Framework: INNOVATE
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