Visits by British Boarding Schools

What do students actually need when artificial intelligence is quietly taking over more and more of what humans used to do? The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is asking exactly that question – and, refreshingly, doing something about it. On 26 February, teachers from IB schools around the world gathered online for a webinar titled "Safeguarding Critical Thinking in the Age of AI", part of the IBO's IB Exchange Community Events series.

The message was clear: knowledge alone is no longer enough. What schools must protect and build is judgment, values, and the ability to place information in a wider context. Critical thinking, the session argued, is not a given – it is a skill, and one with two failure modes. Too little of it produces credulous students who believe everything they read. Too much tips into cynicism and blanket distrust. The goal is a healthy middle ground: alert, but open.

Among the digital tools discussed, Kialo Edu stood out. The tool supports structured debate and makes student thinking visible: arguments have to be formed, backed up, and weighed against each other. That, the session made clear, is precisely what AI cannot do for you – and precisely what schools should be demanding their students do for themselves.

Teachers from IB schools across the globe shared what is working in practice. One contribution in particular stayed with us: a teacher who walks into class and openly shows students how she or he used AI when planning the lesson – and where they chose not to, and why. In education circles, this is called "modelling". Sounds simple –turns out, it’s also one of the most effective things a teacher can do right now – helping students understand not just how to use AI, but when to put it down and think for themselves.