AI Lab Seminar: From media comparison to impactful studies of AI in education
How do we study the impact of AI in education?
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iCal calendarLike a ghost haunting us from the ancient times of research on educational technology (Weidlich, 2026), current research that tries to unpack the impact of AI in education often follows ideas of media comparison studies. These studies compare the use of AI in a learning situation with a situation without it. If everything else is controlled for, this seems to be the golden route towards finding an answer to the million dollar question: What is the impact of AI on learning?
As many scholars have since explained, these research designs are usually flawed and the questions they ask are not meaningful. This is because how a technology is used is much more important than whether it is used. AI in particular can make the learning process much better or worse, depending on how it is used and how we measure the success of learning.
In this seminar, we would like to explore different ways of how to uncover the impact that AI has on learning and teaching. Three different presentations will share practical experiences with impact studies in educational practice. From these, we hope to learn how to make our research more meaningful and impactful.
- 15:00 - 15:15 Welcome and Introduction (Tobias Ley, Tallinn University)
- 15:15 - 16:00 The challenge of studying a technology’s learning benefits: Media comparison studies of GenAI in education (Joshua Weidlich, University of Zürich and Zürich University of Teacher Education)
- 16:00 - 16:45 Impact studies of AI Leap Estonia: Experiences and Challenges (Kristjan-Julius Laak, Tartu University and AI Leap Estonia)
- 16:45 - 17:00 break
- 17:00 - 17:15 Short examples of research studies applied in the TLU AI Lab (tbc)
- 17:15 - 17:30 A commentary on the impact of AI in education (Jaan Aru, Tartu University & AI Leap Estonia)
- 17:30 - … Informal discussions
Seminar will be held in English. Room: M-213 (Riho Pätsi auditoorium)
We welcome teacher educators, researchers, organisers of continuing professional development programmes, educational technologists, school development leaders, and everyone interested in supporting teachers’ learning and professional growth.
The seminar is organised by the AI Lab for Research on Teaching and Learning at Tallinn University, in collaboration with the University of Tartu, HARNO, and TI-Hüpe.
