RedLectern topic
Learning assistance · research workflows · AI literacy · verification · institutional practices.
For: Students · teachers · researchers.
After this page you can: Use AI assistance with explicit learning or research checks.
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Part of: Artificial Intelligence › AI and society
AI in education and research raises practical questions: what should a learner ask AI to help with, how can a researcher check its output, and what should an institution make clear? UNESCO’s student framework groups AI competencies around a human-centred mindset, AI ethics, AI techniques and applications, and AI system design. Its teacher framework also addresses AI pedagogy and professional learning.
Use this page to keep the learning or research goal in view. Ask whether an AI-assisted step helps you understand a subject or move a research task forward, then check the result against course materials or original sources. For research, treat suggested references and summaries as leads to verify. Check your instructor, institution, funder, and journal guidance before sharing sensitive material or submitting work, since their rules and disclosure expectations can differ.
Read UNESCO’s overview of its student and teacher AI competency frameworks, then use the learning section to try a short understanding check.
Start with: What you need to know about UNESCO’s new AI competency frameworks for students and teachers
Keep the subject you are learning at the centre of an AI-assisted task. UNESCO’s student framework covers a human-centred mindset, AI ethics, AI techniques and applications, and AI system design; its teacher framework includes AI pedagogy and professional learning. The assigned term AI literacy means being able to understand, use, and critically assess AI.
Try a simple check after using an explanation or example: close the tool, restate the idea in your own words, and work through a new example. Compare your explanation with course material and note any point that still needs clarification. For a class assignment, check the instructor’s rules before deciding whether or how to use AI.
Provides the student framework’s specifications and curricular goals.
AI literacy
The ability to understand, use, and critically assess AI.
Ask an AI tool for an explanation of a concept you are studying. Close the tool and write a two-sentence explanation in your own words, then use your course material to check it. What is one point you would revise or ask about?
For example, after checking a generated explanation against class notes, you might find it leaves out an important condition. State that condition in your own explanation and write a specific question about why it matters.
AI can be used to explore research outlines, data exploration, and literature reviews, but UNESCO notes that research is still needed to establish the efficacy and accuracy of these uses. Treat an AI-generated reference, quotation, summary, or claim as a lead to check. Find the cited work, inspect its original context, and confirm that it supports the point you plan to make.
For a short verification pass, select one claim and one reference from an AI-assisted draft. Search for the source in a library catalogue or scholarly database, open the source, and compare the relevant passage with the draft. If you use AI in a manuscript, follow the journal’s disclosure requirements; ICMJE says authors should review AI-generated material and ensure appropriate attribution.
Discusses possible uses of generative AI in research and emphasizes human engagement and accountability for accuracy.
Sets out ICMJE recommendations for disclosure, human responsibility, review, and attribution in submitted work.
Choose one AI-suggested reference and one claim it is meant to support. Find the source, inspect the relevant passage, and write whether the reference supports the claim as stated.
For example: the reference exists, but the passage discusses a narrower point than the draft’s claim. The source supports that narrower point, not the claim as written.
AI expectations can depend on the setting and the task. UNESCO recommends human-centred approaches in education and research, including attention to privacy and human agency. At the University of Liverpool, research guidance highlights checks such as critical review, verification, disclosure where required, and care with confidential or personal data. These are examples of institutional guidance, not universal rules.
Before using AI in coursework, teaching, or research, look for the current instructions from the relevant instructor, institution, funder, or journal. Check whether the planned use is allowed, what information may be entered into a tool, what needs to be disclosed, and who remains responsible for the submitted work. If the guidance is unclear, ask the responsible office or person before sharing sensitive material.
An institutional example covering research integrity, verification, disclosure, and handling confidential or personal information.
For a planned AI-assisted task, identify the relevant instructor, institution, funder, or journal guidance. Write down one rule about permitted use, data, or disclosure and one question that remains unanswered.
For example: the university guidance says not to enter unpublished data into a public AI tool without data protection. The remaining question is whether the tool approved for this project meets that requirement.
No recent updates are available.
Wayne Holmes, Maya Bialik, and Charles Fadel · 2019
A broad account of AI in education, including curriculum and teaching. Published in 2019, it predates generative AI, so use it for context rather than current tool guidance.
Siu-Cheung Kong, Harold Abelson, and Cynthia Breazeal, eds. · 2022
A collection on computational thinking in K–12 that includes AI literacy and teaching students to engage with AI thoughtfully. The hosted edition is open access.
Rose Luckin, Wayne Holmes, Mark Griffiths, and Laurie B. Forcier · 2016
An accessible introduction to AI in education and its potential role in teaching and learning. Its 2016 perspective predates generative AI; a free open-access version is available from UCL.
Jasper Roe · 2025
A focused guide to using GenAI in educational research, with examples of research tasks and reminders to check outputs critically.