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CALGARY — Nearly half of Alberta teachers surveyed believe more than half of their students use artificial intelligence to complete homework, according to a new Leger poll commissioned by the Fraser Institute.
The poll found 48.4 per cent of responding teachers in grades 6 to 12 believe more than half of their students use AI for homework.
Those teachers estimated 54.7 per cent of students using AI were doing so inappropriately by having the technology complete their work.
Paige MacPherson, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Survey of Canadian Grades 6–12 Teachers on AI Use, said the findings raise concerns about students’ academic development.
“Alberta teachers who responded to this Leger poll are reporting significant shares of students using AI for homework, and believe most of those students are using AI to do their work for them,” MacPherson said.
More than 84 per cent of respondents said some students produce lower-quality work in class than they do at home, while 88.3 per cent said the gap between take-home and in-class work has been widening.
The poll also found 70.3 per cent of responding Alberta teachers believe students’ in-class writing and analytical skills have declined over the past five years.
Nearly 86 per cent said students’ critical-thinking skills are worse than those of students five years ago.
“At the same time, most of the surveyed Alberta teachers report a decline in their students’ abilities to write and analyze material in class with worsened critical thinking skills compared to students five years ago,” MacPherson said. “This is a significant concern.”
Teachers are also using the technology in their own work, with 73.8 per cent of respondents saying they use AI at least once a week.
However, 37.4 per cent said their school has an AI-use policy for staff, while 44 per cent reported having a policy governing student use.
“AI is a quickly emerging technology and poll results demonstrate that teachers are already seeing a high uptake amongst students, many using it inappropriately, while reporting students’ critical thinking, in-class writing and analysis skills have dropped in just the last five years,” MacPherson said.
The Fraser Institute describes itself as an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.
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