AI Agents for Critical Enquiry: Inspiring Student Reasoning and Reflection

Generative AI can be more than a shortcut — it can act as a thinking partner. In this session, delivered by International Community School, we explore how student-facing AI agents can be designed and used to promote deeper inquiry, challenge assumptions, and support reflective learning.

Rather than doing the work for students, AI agents can be structured to ask better questions, provide scaffolded feedback, and prompt metacognitive awareness. This session offers practical examples and tools for teachers to integrate student AI Agents for Inquiry into lessons while safeguarding academic integrity.

Key Outcomes:

• Understand how AI Agents can be framed as “thinking companions” rather than “answer machines.”
• Learn simple ways for teachers to design or guide student chatbot interactions that build critical thinking.
• Explore classroom models where students create or adapt AI Agents to interrogate ideas and strengthen reasoning.
• Identify guardrails and strategies to ensure ethical use and avoid over-reliance on AI.