PhD project exploring how artificial intelligence can be used in schools in ways that encourage active exploration and dialogue, rather than passive use in Religious Education (RE).
KIDU is a research project that explores how artificial intelligence can be used as a supportive part of everyday school learning. It investigates how AI can function as a sparring partner for lower secondary students in Religious Education.
The project is grounded in the idea that learning develops through dialogue and collaboration, both among students and through interaction with AI. Students therefore work together in groups, where shared discussion around the screen and dialogue with AI are central to the learning process.
The aim of the project is to explore how AI can function as a pedagogical sparring partner for lower secondary students in Religious Education (RE). KIDU is relevant for teachers, schools, teacher education programmes, and others interested in responsible and meaningful uses of AI in education.
Research questions
The project explores three key questions:
- how can AI support exploratory learning?
- how do students collaborate with each other and interact with AI?
- how does AI function as a partner in interaction with students in classroom contexts?
AI is explored in several roles that support different phases of students’ work. These include supporting project planning, acting as a discussion partner when working with subject content, taking on the roles of historical or religious figures to support perspective-taking, and generating visual material based on students’ ideas.
Methods
Methodologically, the project is based on educational design research. Learning activities are created in collaboration with teachers and tested in lower secondary classrooms. Learning activities are continuously refined based on testing and classroom experiences.
Simon Simchai Hansen's publications (nva.sikt.no)
