“A.I. for Students’ Metacognitive Skills and Creative Thinking” By Prof. Dr. Piet Kommers, UNESCO Professor of Educational Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract

Similar to the advancements made in ICT three decades ago, the emergence of AI today signals to educators that the human learning process may be at risk. This keynote lecture will provide an additional perspective on this issue. It is crucial to recognize that the WWW supplies all the information that AI currently presents. The main difference lies in its rhetoric concerning establishing a specific viewpoint. In other words, AI now acts as a powerful catalyst for refining criteria for student assessments, concentrating on discovering unique creative solutions rather than merely elaborating on existing ones. The foundation of creative thinking is metacognition: the awareness of what one already knows, one’s preferred thinking style, and an evolving intuition about how learning builds on prior knowledge. This lecture will outline a roadmap for innovative didactic, instructional, and curricular approaches in the future. Previous research into conceptual representations, ontologies, and metaphoric analogies has supported education in expanding the fields of knowledge elicitation and conceptual thinking. Once AI is integrated, we will witness a growing need among young people to navigate complexities, such as sources of information that do not rely on empirical and validated scientific evidence. This keynote will highlight new aspirations that have emerged and how to seamlessly incorporate them into ‘standing education’ at this very moment. Topics such as teacher education, student selection, and assessment will be discussed. The session aims to conclude with a ‘Questions and Answers’ segment and a discussion. Everyone is welcome to ask about any aspect of this topic.
Prof. Dr. Piet Kommers pkommers@gmail.com

Bio

Prof. Dr. Piet Kommers has been a pioneer in education, innovation, and evaluation. After his academic career at the University of Twente and Utrecht, along with his role at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, he was invited to initiate, oversee, and evaluate EU projects. Critical evaluations and long-term policy directions play a central role in this process. The foundational concept is that evaluating education and training relies on careful reconstructions and an awareness of a broader range of variables in higher and vocational education. Since 2012, Piet Kommers has worked as a consultant and project evaluator for the United Nations, focusing specifically on UNESCO projects related to education and vocational training in African and Asian countries. In this role, he has contributed to both formative and summative evaluations, resulting in policy briefs for ministries and regional authorities.