At the recent national conference on educational science in the era of innovation and digital transformation held at Hanoi University, educators discussed the role of AI, challenges in learning and teaching, and what teachers and learners need to be equipped with.

Vinh, who is Director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing learning devices to students was a “lifeline” solution that helped maintain teaching and learning activities in an emergency context.

From that special situation, a new trend emerged of increasing the provision of technological devices to students. However, many studies have shown that increased computer use in schools does not necessarily lead to improved learning outcomes.

“Technology can solve problems when it is compulsory to use it. But under normal conditions, technology should only be seen as a supporting solution and cannot replace core educational activities,” he emphasized.

Along with this, the boom in AI has drawn growing attention to the concept of adaptive learning. However, Professor Vinh believes this trend is only effective when teachers use AI as a tool rather than a replacement for the teacher’s role.

He cited the example of using AI for automated grading. Technically, AI can process thousands of essays in a short time, reducing teachers’ workload. But when teachers use AI to grade, they cannot prevent students from using AI to write.

“When teachers use AI to teach and students use AI to learn, in the end no one is really teaching and no one is really learning. At that point, the meaning of education disappears,” Vinh warned.

Besides AI use, the trend of “gamification” in teaching has also been adopted by many teachers to increase student interaction. However, studies indicate that this excitement is often short-lived and does not significantly improve long-term learning outcomes.

“Gamification can create initial excitement about ‘learning through play,’ but if not carefully designed, it cannot nurture students’ intrinsic motivation,” he said.

More worryingly, technology providing quick answers can erode students’ higher-order thinking abilities, including critical thinking, complex problem-solving skills, and perseverance with difficult problems.

"In the past when I was a student, there were math problems that we could think about for a whole week; whoever solved it was very excited. But now, students don't have that concept. If given a problem they can't do, they say 'I haven't learned this, I don't know.' Students today overemphasize speed; they want an immediate answer for everything and no longer wait for the journey to reach a result. This is a problem of technology. Students' perseverance is also gradually disappearing," Vinh warned.

Setting higher goals 

In the context of AI's increasingly broad presence, Vinh believes the most important thing is to clearly define the ultimate goal of education.

"What kind of young Vietnamese generation do we want to form? The answer will decide whether we should focus our investment on technology or people," he said.

If the goal of education is merely achievement and scores, current technological solutions are very effective in supporting students to learn and test well. But if aiming for a generation of comprehensively developed students with capacity, skills, and character to grow up and be happy, the role of the teacher is irreplaceable. 

In that case, technology only plays a supporting role, while the heart of education remains the relationship and interaction between teacher and student.

This also requires teachers to set higher goals in learning through the support of technology.

"If previously most class time was used to transmit knowledge, now with the support of technology, learners have an 'assistant' to help them access knowledge before class. Class time returns to the essence of education, which is discussion and exchange, with the teacher acting as a guide," Vinh said.

According to him, in the past, a teacher might have needed 30 minutes to prepare a lecture which could gain 6 scores, but now with technology, it can reach that level in just five minutes. However, educators should not be satisfied with a "6-score product in 5 minutes" but should instead utilize those 30 minutes alongside technology to create an "8-9 score product."

Thanh Hung