All season we’ve looked at the risks of AI and screens for kids’ thinking. This week we hear the other side. Cristine and Elicia talk with Dr. Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, about what a good AI tutor should do, what it should never do, and why teachers aren’t going anywhere.

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr. Kristen DiCerbo sets the teaching and learning strategy at Khan Academy and led the launch of Khanmigo, its AI tutor for students and assistant for teachers. A former school psychologist with a PhD in educational psychology, she has also worked at Cisco and Pearson. She was named to the TIME100 AI list.

IN THIS EPISODE
(02:05) From school psychologist to ed tech: helping more learners learn more
(04:12) What Khan Academy and Khanmigo actually do
(06:26) Not all screen time is the same: about 30 minutes a week of practice leads to real gains
(08:58) How Khanmigo is built to tutor instead of giving answers
(12:03) “Explain Your Thinking”: getting students to justify their reasoning
(14:26) Guardrails, teacher flags, and full chat transcripts
(16:33) “IDK, IDK”: spotting kids who are just clicking through
(19:09) The WALL-E future and why AI should augment thinking, not replace it
(21:47) Can AI replace teachers? “Human high fives beat computer confetti”
(24:07) Can AI read students’ emotions?
(25:45) The line AI should never cross, and what gives her hope
(28:03) The AI-supported classroom 10 years from now

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Not all screen time is equal. The question is what kids are doing on the screen.
• AI built for learning protects productive struggle. General chatbots usually just hand over the answer.
• A good AI tutor asks questions instead of giving answers, just like good teachers do.
• Teachers stay in control: flags, transcripts, and summaries show what students are doing.
• AI should augment kids’ thinking, not replace it. Help students understand why an assignment matters.
• Relationships matter most. Students with a caring adult at school are more likely to graduate and go to college.
• AI should never be used to manipulate students’ emotions or hook them the way social media does.

FOR TEACHERS: “ASK ME, DON’T TELL ME”
A K-5 lesson where students learn the difference between a helper who gives answers and a helper who helps you think, then take turns being the tutor. You’ll use Khanmigo, which is free for U.S. teachers, to build part of it.

FAMILY HOMEWORK: LEARNING OR BUSY?
Sit next to your child during screen time just once and ask yourself: is this learning or is this busy? If your child is in 3rd grade or up, try a Khanmigo session together and watch how it answers a question with a question. Tell us what happened!

Hosts: Cristine Davis and Elicia
The Copy Paste Generation, Episode 7

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