In this episode we explore why two recent studies—one showing AI weakening students’ math performance and another showing AI-enhanced feedback improving writing—may actually point to the same conclusion: the impact of AI depends on how learning is designed.

Topics covered:

• What research reveals about AI use and declining math performance
• How combining peer and AI feedback can strengthen student writing
• The difference between receiving an answer and exercising judgment
• Why AI exposes assignments built around task completion
• Understanding by Design and the role of backward planning
• How to identify meaningful transfer goals
• Designing writing tasks around audience, purpose, and lived experience
• Creating math assessments that measure genuine problem-solving
• Why stronger assignment design may be more effective than banning AI

Sources:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.21629

https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-ai-eroding-math-skills/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S8755461525000088