Practical Parenting: Learning in the Age of AI with Dr. Jennifer Steele

Artificial intelligence has woven itself into nearly every corner of our lives: how we work, how we search, how we communicate, how we create. So, the question isn't whether AI is going to be part of our children's education; it already is. 

In this episode of Practical Parenting, we talk with Dr. Jennifer Steele, professor at the Baker School of Education at American University, about how parents and schools can prepare children to learn and work in a world increasingly shaped by AI. 

Reading, math, and other foundational skills will continue to matter, but computers can do a lot of writing, coding, math, and information synthesis quickly. Dr. Steele says that means children also need "metacognitive skills, self-regulation and interpersonal relating." 

In fact, she describes emotional intelligence as "the overarching skill." Managing emotions, listening, collaborating, and working well with others are important in themselves, but they also help children learn. Learning something difficult requires practice and focus, and Dr. Steele says it's important for children to "find the curiosity in something and stick with it when it gets hard." 

For younger children, that can begin with parents modeling self-regulation and helping kids consider other people's perspectives. Parents might ask, "How do you think so-and-so feels about that?" or encourage a child to notice when someone feels left out. As children move into middle and high school, the focus shifts toward managing their own learning and understanding struggles don't last forever. 

We also explored how schools should approach AI. While teaching children to work with new technology may seem important, Dr. Steele argues schools don't need to spend significant amounts of time teaching children how to query chatbots. Instead, "we need to protect the sacredness of the classroom." 

That means preserving opportunities for "slow learning:” working on paper, writing by hand, explaining a problem at the board, reading full novels, talking with classmates, and persevering when material becomes difficult. Dr. Steele also emphasizes the importance of the interpersonal connection between students and teachers rather than having machines do the teaching. 

Parents can reinforce these skills at home. Reading together, talking about books and movies, asking children about different perspectives in a story, and having family dinners where everyone talks about their day can help children develop empathy, curiosity, and problem-solving skills. Dr. Steele says these conversations model "the openness that creates healthy, thriving families" while helping build "healthy, resilient, problem-solving kids who have empathy and feel loved in their homes." 

Ultimately, the conversation isn't about keeping AI away from children. It's about making sure children develop the skills to use it intentionally. When asked which students will thrive in an AI world, Dr. Steele says they are "the ones who see themselves as problem solvers because artificial intelligence is a beautiful tool for solving problems, but if you're just using it as a shield to avoid work, it is not useful at all."

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