From AI Consumption to Co-Thinking: How Structured Evaluation Enhances Year 9 Girls’ Critical Thinking in Science Inquiry · ICGS Research Library

Title

From AI Consumption to Co-Thinking: How Structured Evaluation Enhances Year 9 Girls’ Critical Thinking in Science Inquiry

Author

Jo Oreo

Year Published

2026

Description

This action research examines how structured evaluation of AI-generated outputs shapes girls’ critical thinking. This study was motivated by concerns that generative artificial intelligence (GAI) may encourage surface-level learning and cognitive offloading when girls use it primarily for quick responses, particularly in the absence of explicit scaffolding for critical and ethical engagement. A purpose-designed co-thinking framework was implemented within a Year 9 Science inquiry unit in an independent girls’ school to support girls to “co-think” with AI while maintaining ownership of their ideas. Data from student portfolios, surveys, classroom observations, and interviews indicated a shift from using AI for quick answers toward more deliberate co-thinking, with greater attention to accuracy, bias, and limitations, alongside increased cross-checking, prompt revision, and clearer differentiation between students’ ideas and AI contributions. Overall, the findings indicate that the impact of GAI depends less on the technology itself and more on pedagogical design. When evaluation is explicitly scaffolded, students engage more critically with AI, using it to test and refine ideas rather than accept outputs at face value. Student feedback from this research informed the refinement of this framework, now supporting broader whole-school approaches to critical thinking and ethical engagement with GAI.