Rethink Learning Labs

Did you guess correctly from last week?

Image description: An orange background with a cartoon megaphone in the corner. There is a speech bubble with a fun fact reading "Did you know? If students reported that their school had a schoolwide rule about AI use, it was more likely going to be prohibiting AI than allowing it." There is a citation reading "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K., More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 9-10."

It's !
One third of students report that their school has a schoolwide rule about AI use.
Do you think more schools have rules prohibiting AI, or allowing it?
Find out the answer on Monday.

Image description: A teal background with raised circles the same color as the background itself.
There is a little cartoon megaphone in the corner and a speech bubble coming out of it. The speech bubble has a fun fact which reads "Did you know? One third of students said that their school has a schoolwide policy about AI use for homework." There is a citation which reads "Source: Schwartz H.L. and Diliberti M.K. More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 9-10."

Whether students believe that AI use is cheating depends on what they're using the AI to do.

Image description: a beige background with a picture of a kitten. To the right is a fun fact which reads "Did you know? Most students feel that using AI to clarify assignments or brainstorm isn't cheating. However, they think using AI to write or get answers could be considered cheating." There is a citation which reads: "Source: Schwartz H.L. and Diliberti M.K. More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 7-9."

The four most common ways students use AI (from most to least common) are: Getting better explanations for their assignments, brainstorming, looking up facts, and drafting or revising their writing. Did you guess any of these?

Image description: A yellow background. There is a large three-dimensional looking question mark on one side. On the other is a fun fact that reads "Did you know? There are four things students use AI for more than getting answers for their homework: getting better explanations for their assignments, brainstorming, looking up facts, and drafting or revising their writing." There is a citation which reads "Source: Schwartz H.L. and Diliberti M.K., More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 7-9."

It's !
Only around a quarter of students are using AI to explicitly get answers to their homework. But that's not the biggest reason they use it. What do you think the reason is? Find out on Monday if you were right.

Image description: An orange background with a hollow question mark on the right, surrounded by three little black question marks. On the left is a light bulb above a fun fact that reads "Did you know? Roughly a quarter of all students use AI to get answers for their homework." There is a citation which reads "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K., More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 7-9."

When students use AI, they mostly use chatbots. And most of the time, it's ChatGPT.

Image Description:
A yellow background with a lightbulb on one side and a question mark on the other.
In the middle is a photograph of a person gardening, and a box with a fun fact reading "Did you know? The AI tool that students use the most is ChatGPT. As of December 2025, over half of all students use ChatGPT." There is a citation which reads "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K., More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 5-7."

Though usage of AI widely varies across grade levels, opinions on AI does not.

Image description: A bright red background with a white box. In one corner is a lightbulb, in the other corner is a cartoon drawing of a man. Inside the box is a fun fact which reads "Did you know? Students of all grade levels agree that using AI for your schoolwork potentially harms your critical thinking skills." There is a citation that reads "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K. More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p.4"

Join us today at the NextGen STEM Fest in Waltham.

It's !
As of December 2025, 78% of students who don't use AI and 60% of students who do use AI said they believed that using AI for schoolwork harms your critical thinking skills.

Image description: a retro-futuristic orange round-edged box on a black background. The box has a picture of a book inside. Several planets and space-objects are floating above the book fantastically. To the left of the book (and also within the orange box) is a fun fact which reads "Did you know? Even if they themselves used AI, most students said they believed using AI for schoolwork harms your critical thinking skills." There is a citation which reads "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K. More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 3."

Image description: a forest green background with two overlapping teardrops and a box that houses a fun fact which reads "Did you know? College and high school students are more likely to use AI than middle schoolers. BUT, as of December 2025, almost half of middle school students use AI for at least one class." There is a citation that reads "Source: Schwartz H.L., and Diliberti M.K. More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking (2026). p 2-3."