Japan expands generative AI integration in student inquiry-based learning

Educational institutions and service providers in Japan are increasingly integrating generative AI into curricula to foster critical thinking and inquiry-based learning.

CodeCampKIDS has launched an ‘AI Utilization Course’ for elementary and junior high school students. Using Gemini, the program teaches students how to create prompts for daily life and programming. The curriculum emphasizes using AI as a support tool for ideas rather than a source of definitive answers, encouraging students to verify and judge information independently.

Mypalette, in collaboration with Keio University’s Kazuto Ataka Laboratory, is conducting an empirical study to examine how different AI dialogue styles—cognitive support, metacognitive support, and standard dialogue—affect the autonomous learning abilities of junior and senior high school students. The study aims to address the difficulty teachers face in guiding students through self-directed inquiry.

Additionally, Seiritsu Gakuen Junior and Senior High School, in partnership with CoBloom, recently completed a special inquiry program. Students used generative AI as a ‘partner’ to explore social issues like inflation and social media trends. The program utilized specific prompt frameworks to help students structure problems and perform fact-checking, shifting student perceptions of AI from a mere convenience to a tool that requires human-led questioning.