FORMATION OF CRITICAL THINKING WHILE STUDYING INORGANIC CHEMISTRY BY MEANS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

Summary. Introduction. The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is transforming the educational environment of secondary schools, creating new opportunities alongside new risks for the quality of natural science education. Uncritical use of AI-generated responses by students in studying inorganic chemistry increases the risk of reinforcing false ideas about chemical patterns, since documented errors of AI systems in calculation and classification tasks are a recognized phenomenon, while methodological guidance for purposefully developing students’ critical thinking through AI specifically in inorganic chemistry remains insufficiently developed.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate and reveal the methodological potential of artificial intelligence tools in forming students’ critical thinking in the process of studying inorganic chemistry.

Methods. Analytical, comparative and systemic approaches were combined to study the problem, drawing on Ukrainian state AI-education policy documents, UNESCO frameworks on generative AI in education, and the critical-thinking structure validated in chemistry education research.

Results. The structural components of students’ critical thinking in studying inorganic chemistry are clarified: analysis of chemical information, evaluation of evidence, argumentation, and reflection. Four methodological techniques of developing critical thinking by means of AI are identified: verifying an AI response, challenging AI with flawed premises, comparing sources, and generating alternative hypotheses. A six-stage algorithm of student-AI interaction is developed, together with examples of learning tasks in inorganic chemistry illustrating each technique.

Originality. For the first time, methodological techniques and an interaction algorithm for developing critical thinking specifically through AI use in teaching inorganic chemistry are proposed and systematized.

Conclusion. Systematic incorporation of the developed tasks into inorganic chemistry instruction is expected to foster all identified components of students’ critical thinking and enhance their media and AI literacy. Further research should experimentally verify the methodology’s effectiveness in secondary schools.