Japan’s educators tackle how to bring AI into learning | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

The OECD conducts its Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, measuring the abilities of 15-year-old students in science, reading and math about once every three years. In the latest round, over 760,000 students across 91 countries and economies took part.

Japan’s students remained among the world’s top performers, with their average scores placing: fifth in science, down three places from the previous assessment; fifth in mathematics, unchanged from the last survey; and fourth in reading literacy, down one place. However, when compared solely among the 38 OECD member countries, Japan ranked first in all three categories.

For the first time, the latest survey also looked at how frequently generative AI is being used in schools. Among OECD members, Japan ranked last in the use of generative AI for schoolwork. In comparison, Colombia ranked first, followed by Turkey, Spain, Poland and Chile.

When looking at students who use generative AI once or more a week, 27.4 percent of Japanese students used AI to help them learn, while the OECD average was 45.5 percent. On using AI to conduct preliminary research on a new topic, the average in Japan was 11.2 percent compared to the OECD average of 31.2 percent.

However, Japan’s Education Ministry is planning to incorporate the use of AI into elementary and junior high school curriculums for the first time. The new guidelines are expected to take effect within four years’ time.

In a class on classical Japanese poetry, students compare their answers with an AI chatbot, after they had fully worked out the answer on their own.

They type their observations into the chatbot, which then offers differing interpretations. The activity is intended to help students deepen their thinking.

But the OECD is recommending that such tools be used carefully. In a report released this January, it warned that “overreliance on generative AI tools that provide direct answers can reduce students’ active engagement.” If used as a shortcut rather than a learning tool, they “can displace cognitive effort and weaken the skills that underpin deep learning.”

The organization’s latest PISA survey also showed that if children overuse AI, their scores become lower.

Among Japanese children who received information literacy education, students who used AI once or twice a month scored an average of 558 points in science. Those who used AI once or twice a week averaged 560 points.

But for students who used AI nearly every day, the average score dropped to 534 points.

The findings suggest that students who relied on generative AI too heavily tend to achieve lower scores.

A similar trend was observed among students who used the technology to summarize texts or draft essays.

Schools that are promoting the use of AI in the classroom say they were initially concerned about introducing it.

Miyabe Masataka, the vice principal of Sagara Junior High School, says, “There is anxiety that AI could become nothing more than a search tool, or that looking things up could be reduced to a simple operation rather than a learning exercise that gets to the heart of the subject.”

He added that it would be good if they could have classes where students compare their own ideas with ones generated by AI, consider the merits of each and maybe even decide that their own answers are better.

The OECD takes a similar view.

A company in Tokyo that develops AI software for schools has taken up that challenge of creating tools designed to foster children’s critical thinking.

When asked why the moon has phases and cycles, its AI chatbot responded with the question, “Do you think the moon shines on its own or reflects light?” Unlike conventional AI chatbots, it does not immediately give an answer.

In this case, it took about four exchanges for the answer to finally appear.

Yamaji Ryo, CEO of StudyPocket, says: “Some people are worried that AI could rob children of the opportunity to spend time thinking about things. But we are tailoring the app so that AI actually allows for more time spent thinking.”

He adds: “Children naturally want answers. But if those answers are provided too easily, they will miss out on the chance to think things through for themselves, and we want to help preserve those valuable opportunities.”

The company began providing the AI software to educators two years ago, and says it has already been introduced at more than 1,000 schools.

While Japan looks to expand the use of generative AI in schools, some places are taking a more cautious approach.

Norway has imposed a near-total ban of its use in elementary schools, while New York City has temporarily prohibited most public school students from using any software containing generative AI.

Tanaka Hiroyuki, a professor at Waseda University, says the PISA results are beginning to reveal problems that had been feared in the age of generative AI.

Tanaka says it has long been noted that children who have difficulty receiving educational support at home tend to have a lower academic performance, and adds that “generative AI and social media are exacerbating this issue and creating a vicious cycle.”

He notes that it is understandable that various places are regulating the use of AI, but adds that Japan should not blindly follow them as it aims to promote innovation in science and technology.

“Precisely because we are in the age of AI, there is a need for education that fosters critical thinking and reading comprehension so that students can make effective use of it,” Tanaka says.