To Guide or Stand Aside? Instructor Guidance and Student Use of Conversational AI in a Pre-College Entrepreneurship Course

This study explores the implications of integrating conversational AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude2, and Perplexity into a pre-college entrepreneurship course. Conducted within Columbia University's Pre-College Summer Immersion program, this Teaching-as-Research experiment compares two distinct approaches to teaching with AI: a control group with non-directed AI use and a treatment group receiving structured AI literacy instruction, prompt suggestions, and guided discussions. Our findings illuminate the stark differences in AI use habits and entrepreneurial proficiency between these cohorts. The treatment group, equipped with explicit guidance, demonstrated a more sophisticated application of AI to entrepreneurial tasks and a markedly stronger performance in final course projects. This study underscores the impact of structured AI literacy education in fostering effective and equitable technology use in the classroom, leaving the students empowered to confidently use the novel technology to help them launch new ventures. These insights prompt further contemplations about the future of AI in education, inviting educators to rethink traditional pedagogies in the face of rapidly evolving digital landscapes.