Artificial intelligence is often marketed as a tool to enhance teacher effectiveness, simplifying tasks like lesson planning and student feedback. However, a new randomized trial shows that AI assistance might actually diminish student motivation and learning outcomes. The findings suggest that reliance on AI can negatively impact the educational experience, especially for students guided by less effective teachers.
Research led by Alp Sungu of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania revealed that teachers using an AI teaching assistant showed a decline in their students' intrinsic motivation. This was especially evident among students of teachers who had already been underperforming, who's students also saw a drop in scores on standardized exams.
“Teachers, much like students, can fall into the trap of using AI as a crutch,” noted Sungu. “They delegate tasks to AI instead of engaging deeply with the material, which ultimately results in lower teaching quality.” The findings emerged from a draft study titled “Generative AI Can Harm Teaching,” which has yet to undergo peer review.
This study aligns with Sungu's prior research indicating that students tend to leverage AI as a mere source for answers rather than a learning aid. He believes a similar pattern emerges among teachers, who may replace authentic lesson development with AI-generated materials, thereby compromising the quality of education.
Sungu's investigation involved 193 teachers and over 2,800 middle and high school students across a private school network in Turkey in the spring of 2025. Teachers were randomly assigned to either utilize a customized ChatGPT-based teaching assistant or continue their conventional teaching practices. For ten weeks, the AI tool was primarily used for generating lectures, assignments, and quizzes.
Students taught by instructors using the AI tool rated their classes as less enjoyable and engaging than their peers in the control group. The study noted a slight decline in motivation, particularly pronounced among students whose teachers were heavier AI users prior to the study.
While average academic performance saw no significant change overall, those taught by lower-performing instructors reported decreased confidence and achievement levels. This assessment was made using standardized exams, establishing that grading consistency was not a factor in the results.
Despite the study's implications, its design complicates a straightforward comparison between teaching with and without AI. Control group teachers could access other AI tools, meaning the results reflect the impact of a specialized teaching assistant against varied individual practices. Sungu cautioned that the risks of excessive reliance on AI might be understated within these findings.
Importantly, however, he emphasized that the results do not imply that "AI is terrible and will ruin education." Instead, they underscore a critical insight: merely having access to AI technology does not inherently enhance teaching quality. It raises the challenge of how to support teachers in integrating AI in ways that maintain educational effectiveness and foster creativity.
To address these concerns, targeted training for teachers and better design of AI tools are essential. “As things stand, the way teachers use AI can pose some significant issues,” Sungu observed.
Sungu shared that he personally incorporates AI in his university courses to create interactive elements that would otherwise be time-consuming. “When I first see the results, they often look promising, but without additional refinement, I find that the material doesn't quite align with my teaching goals,” he stated. “So, it ends up taking me just as long to enhance the AI output to suit my class.”
Thus, he concluded, “AI isn’t necessarily a time-saver.” It’s crucial to find a balance where the efficiencies offered by AI do not overshadow the essential human elements that drive effective teaching.
For more insights, reach out to staff writer Jill Barshay.
This piece was informed by research from The Hechinger Report, an independent news organization focused on education coverage.
