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Teaching Discernment in the Age of AI

Growing Wise Minds: Helping Children Make Sense in a World of Misinformation

 

Introduction

In an age where artificial intelligence can write essays, generate realistic fake videos, and mimic human voices, one skill stands out as more vital than ever: discernment.

 

Discernment is the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, to think critically before accepting information, and to choose wisely in a world flooded with choices. For our tamariki, this is not a “nice-to-have”—it’s a lifelong skill that protects their thinking, empowers their decision-making, and strengthens their identity in a fast-changing world.

 

Why Does Discernment Matter More Now Than Ever?

The digital world our children are growing up in is both rich with knowledge and rife with manipulation.

  • A deepfake video can convincingly show someone saying something they never said.
  • An AI chatbot can “hallucinate” facts that sound convincing but are untrue.
  • Algorithms push content not because it’s accurate, but because it keeps us clicking.

Research Insight:

Children begin to develop trust biases between the ages of 5 and 8 (Mills, 2013). This makes them especially vulnerable to misinformation unless guided with tools for critical thinking.

Case in Point:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, false information spread across platforms faster than facts (World Health Organisation, 2020), and even adults struggled to navigate the flood of opinions, theories, and algorithms.

If we want our children to thrive in this world, not just survive, we must teach them how to ask good questions, recognise credible sources, and notice when something feels “off.”

 

What Does Discernment Look Like in Children?

Discernment is not about cynicism. It’s about:

  • Healthy curiosity: “Why is this being said?”
  • Informed scepticism: “Can I check this somewhere else?”
  • Values-based decision-making: “Does this align with what I know is right?”

A discerning child might:

  • Spot that a YouTube video is sponsored
  • Notice bias in a story or stereotype in a game
  • Ask why an AI gave a certain answer, and whether it's correct

 

How Do We Teach It in Primary School?

Here are five ways to build discernment in age-appropriate, engaging ways:

 

1. Teach Students to Be "Digital Detectives"

Turn online exploration into an adventure:

  • Who wrote this?
  • Why was it made?
  • Is it trying to teach, sell, or persuade?
  • Can we verify this elsewhere?

Use posters or checklists with visual cues to guide early readers. Think: “STOP and SNIFF before you CLICK.”

 

Tool Suggestion:

Common Sense Media’s “News and Media Literacy” lessons for Years 3–6 provide fantastic classroom-ready content.

 

2. Compare Human Thinking with AI Thinking

Let students experience how AI sometimes makes mistakes:

  • Ask ChatGPT a simple maths question with a twist—and watch how it can get confused.
  • Use Google’s “Teachable Machine” to show how AI can misclassify based on poor data.

Then discuss:

  • “Why did it make that mistake?”
  • “What can we do to help it improve?”
  • “Can we trust it without checking?”

Learning Outcome:Children understand that AI is powerful, but not always right.

 

3. Use Storytelling and Role Play

Craft stories or scenarios involving a character who has to decide:

  • Whether to believe a rumour
  • Whether to click a suspicious link
  • Whether to believe something AI told them

Let students play out different endings and discuss:

  • What helped the character make a good choice?
  • What could have gone wrong?

This builds both empathy and reasoning, two cornerstones of discernment.

 

4. Encourage Questions Over Answers

Shift classroom culture to value questions such as:

  • “How do we know?”
  • “What might we be missing?”
  • “Who benefits from this message?”

Model questioning in your own practice—wonder out loud and let students see thinking as inquiry, not just fact-collection.

Mātauranga Māori Integration:Use pūrākau (traditional narratives) that highlight wise decision-making and tap into whakapapa (relationships and context) to explain why truth is never just surface-level.

 

5. Connect Discernment to Values

Make it part of your character education:

  • What does honesty look like online?
  • How do we show integrity when sharing or creating information?
  • What does whakapono (belief) mean in the digital age?

Let school values like manaakitanga and whanaungatanga shape the way students engage with information and one another.

 

Final Thoughts: Teaching for Truth in an Age of AI

The age of AI and information overload calls for a new kind of learning—not more memorisation, but deeper meaning-making. Discernment gives our tamariki the tools to:

  • Resist manipulation
  • Value truth
  • Make wise, values-based choices

Let us teach our children not just what to think but how to think clearly and kindly in an age when so much is trying to think for them.

 

References

  • Mills, C. M. (2013). Knowing when to doubt: Developing a critical stance when learning from others. Developmental Psychology.
  • World Health Organisation (2020). Managing the COVID-19 Infodemic: Promoting healthy behaviours and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation.
  • Common Sense Media. (2023). Digital Citizenship Curriculum – https://www.commonsense.org
  • Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century – notes the importance of teaching critical thinking over traditional fact retention.