The Pope's hammer: navigating AI and fostering critical thinking in HE

In both further and higher education, understanding AI's impact on students is crucial. With over 25 years of experience as a second-level history teacher, I've seen educational technology evolve, but AI represents an unprecedented shift. However, a significant challenge for all educators: addressing the gap between students' widespread use of AI and their ability to utilise these tools effectively and ethically. I hope my experiences of using AI with secondary school students, who will soon be entering your lectures, prove helpful in navigating this new landscape. 

The AI era is here

Models such as ChatGPT, Claude, and various AI-powered educational tools are rapidly beginning to find their way into classrooms and indeed many people’s smartphones. A recent Harvard University study on generative AI use among undergraduates revealed some striking findings: 

• Almost 90% of students surveyed use generative AI, with ChatGPT being the tool of choice for 95% of users
• 20% of students have altered their course selection due to AI.

The study highlighted critical student concerns, including doubts about academic integrity related to AI use, fears of AI impacting job prospects, and a demand for courses on AI's future impacts. These findings, though American, are likely to mirror trends in Ireland. It illustrates the need for educators to address AI's role in curriculum design, ethics, and career readiness. 

The best feedback I’ve ever given in my career

AI’s impact on my teaching is multifaceted and far-reaching. I've found that ChatGPT significantly simplifies my administrative tasks, allowing me to redirect my time and energy to more impactful activities. It has made differentiation more effective and manageable. By handling routine tasks, I can focus on crafting exceptional lessons that inspire deep learning and critical thinking. Perhaps most excitingly, AI is turning my long-held educational aspirations into reality. Projects once set aside due to time or resource constraints are now achievable. At the top of this list is the ability to provide my students with the best feedback I've ever given in my career. This feedback is timely, helpful, and personalised. 

This approach, born from correcting 1500-word Leaving Certificate history projects, can be seamlessly adapted to higher education. In this framework, 80% of the educational process remains primarily driven by my insight, feedback, and guidance. The remaining 20% leverages AI to enhance efficiency, personalisation, and the quality of feedback. This ensures that AI amplifies my expertise rather than replacing it. 

Consider how this might apply to assessing undergraduate essays or postgraduate dissertations:

1. As you read each piece, use voice-to-text to input your thoughts into an AI tool like ChatGPT
2. Ask the AI to generate a structured feedback report based on your input
3. Review and edit the AI-generated report, ensuring it aligns with your assessment
4. Provide the refined feedback to students, along with your personal insights within a few days (and not a few weeks). 

While we possess the expertise, it's the articulation and delivery to students that traditionally consumed most of our energy. Now, with AI, this 'heavy lifting” is just a prompt away. 

AI’s limitations 

However, despite its potential, we must recognise AI’s  limitations: it can make mistakes, lack empathy, and sometimes lacks "good old cop on."  It’s essential that we ensure our students don't mistake AI's efficiency for expertise. We must prioritise the development of domain and tacit knowledge, which are built through years of experience and cannot be bypassed. We all need to instil in our students that AI can assist in learning, but it can never replace the deep understanding, critical thinking, and judgement that come from hands-on experience. 

The Pope's Hammer: Fostering Digital Literacy and Critical Thinking in the AI Era 

Therefore as educators, we face a unique challenge: nurturing critical thinking skills in students increasingly reliant on AI and quick-access information. My experience as a secondary school teacher offers valuable insights. Around the time of Pope Benedict's passing, when a first-year student mentioned a TikTok video about the 'Pope's Hammer' - a silver hammer supposedly used to tap the Pope's head three times to confirm his death. We watched the video together, and I must admit, it was very convincing. However, a quick 'Google' rumbled it was not the truth.   

I've come to call these 'Pope's Hammer moments'. They're instances where apocryphal information captures our attention and piques our interest. These quirky, often sensational "facts" are so intriguing that we almost hope they're true. It's precisely this kind of plausible-sounding misinformation that spreads rapidly in our digital age.  

Unfortunately, such classroom learning becomes rarer as students’ progress through school.  They just don't want to be singling themselves out as studious in front of their peers; it's not good for their "street cred". 

We also must contend with the 'swipe up' culture of social media, where if something isn’t interesting or sensational catches our eye, we quickly move on to the next thing in our feed. Social media algorithms exacerbate this by prioritising content designed to keep viewers engaged, often at the expense of accuracy. In such cases, the facts don't get in the way of a good story or a sensational headline. Metaphorical 'Pope's Hammers' lie in wait to trip us up at every turn. 

Therefore, as educators, we must extol and demonstrate the importance of critical thinking. We must equip students with the tools to navigate an information landscape rife with misinformation. For experts, such moments won't be hard to find, but for students lacking domain knowledge, it's a different story. They simply don't know what they don't know. By embracing teachable moments like the one I outline, we can help students develop skills that are not only academic, but essential for life in an AI-driven world. 

A call to action for Higher Education 

As we navigate this new educational frontier, proactive engagement with AI tools is essential. If you haven't already, sign up for ChatGPT. Then, try this simple exercise: ask it for an engaging hook to introduce your next lecture. You'll quickly realise its power and potential. Model responsible use and help students ethically amplify their skills. And when they stub their toe on a 'Pope's Hammer', let's hope it's a learning moment and not in a high-stakes dissertation or thesis that could destroy their academic integrity. 

Patrick Hickey is a history teacher with 27 years of experience in second-level education who has become a leading voice in AI education in Ireland. As the founder of aiteachingguru.com, his highly engaging training sessions have regularly attracted over 1,000 educators per seminar. Patrick's expertise has been featured on prominent media outlets including Virgin Media's "The Tonight Show" and RTÉ News. He has presented at major education conferences nationwide and consults for organisations like the Irish Credit Unions and AI Edtech start-ups. Patrick can be followed across all major social media platforms @aiteachingguru or on LinkedIn