Rethinking Education in the Age of Generative AI

Image of a futuristic classroom created by ChatGPT

By Dr. Joseph Vancell | University of Malta

Artificial Intelligence (AI), and more specifically Generative AI (GenAI), is not just the next big trend - it’s a transformative force reshaping how we teach, learn, and think about education.

In my recent literature review spanning research from 2020 to 2025, I examined how AI is actively altering educational practices, student engagement, and institutional operations. What emerges is a complex but compelling picture: AI in education is both an opportunity and a challenge—one that demands pedagogical courage, ethical clarity, and systemic readiness.

From Personalised Learning to Pedagogical Shifts

AI's most evident strength lies in personalised learning. Adaptive systems can tailor instruction to each student’s pace, needs, and understanding. GenAI, in particular, supports real-time feedback, custom content, and differentiated instruction. This allows educators to step out of the rigid role of content delivery and become facilitators of learning—guiding critical inquiry, creativity, and reflection.

But this is not merely about efficiency. When viewed through the lenses of constructivism and constructionism, AI’s true potential unfolds.

• Constructivism, rooted in the work of Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner, emphasises that learners actively build knowledge through experience.

• Constructionism, as advocated by Seymour Papert, pushes this further: learning happens most powerfully when students create something meaningful - be it a model, a digital artefact, or a new idea.

GenAI tools, when aligned with these frameworks, can be more than productivity boosters—they can be co-creators of meaning, supporting inquiry-based, learner-centred education.

The Ethical Imperative

Yet, the literature is clear: we cannot adopt AI blindly. Risks such as plagiarism, misinformation, algorithmic bias, and over-reliance threaten to undermine educational integrity. Without safeguards, GenAI could reinforce Paulo Freire’s "banking model" of passive education instead of liberating learning.

As Noam Chomsky has bluntly argued, ChatGPT and similar tools could amount to "high-tech plagiarism" if misused. Academic institutions must therefore invest in AI literacy, teacher training, and ethical frameworks to ensure responsible use.

Teachers at the Crossroads

Crucially, this transformation does not displace educators—it redefines them. Teachers are not being replaced by AI. Rather, their role is evolving into designers of learning experiences, ethical mentors, and digital literacy leaders. But this shift requires systemic support: training programs, curriculum redesign, and inclusive policies must align with this vision.

What Comes Next?

The road ahead is clear: to harness AI effectively, we must move beyond the tool itself and focus on pedagogical alignment, ethical integration, and institutional readiness.

This means:

• Adopting constructivist and constructionist principles in EdTech design.

• Ensuring formative, dialogic assessment that AI can augment - not circumvent.

• Designing policies that promote equity, privacy, and access.

• Preparing both students and teachers for an AI-augmented future.

AI is not the enemy of education—it is its next frontier. But to cross that frontier, we must equip ourselves not just with tools but with theories, ethics, and vision.

Let’s not ask whether AI will change education. It already has. The question is: will we shape its use with intention - or let it shape us by default?