AI, Assessment & 21st Century Skills: What Should Students Learn in the Age of AI?

About this episode

The episode discusses how AI is reshaping education and assessment, focusing on essential 21st century skills.

Today, Bob Hawkins speaks with Nawaz Aslam from the EdTech Hub and Roy Manzi of Manzia AI to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping what students need to learn and how education systems can assess those skills. Building on themes from the recent AI for Assessment webinar hosted by the EdTech Hub and the World Bank, the discussion highlights the growing importance of 21st century competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving and information literacy as AI becomes part of everyday learning. We also examine emerging approaches to AI-supported assessment, including tools that can generate timely feedback and help teachers measure complex skills at scale. Early pilots, including work in Zimbabwe, offer a glimpse of what responsible AI integration might look like in low resource settings and reinforce why human judgment, clear standards and strong evidence must remain at the center of any education system adopting these technologies. Links: Learn more about the EdTech Hub's AI Observatory and Action Lab Learn more about the World Bank’s work on digital and 21st century skills Learn more about Manzia AI A podcast produced by Lucía Blasco.

People in this episode

Host: Bob Hawkins

Guests: Nawaz Aslam, Roy Manzi

Topics covered

• artificial intelligence
• education assessment
• 21st century skills
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• information literacy
• AI-supported assessment

Keywords

• AI
• education
• assessment
• 21st century skills
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• information literacy
• EdTech
• Manzia AI
• World Bank

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EdTech Hub, Manzia AI, World Bank

Places: Zimbabwe

More episodes of World Bank EduTech Podcast

• AI and Tertiary Education: Building Skills and Resilience for a Changing World · April 30, 2026 · 33 min
• AI, Creative Skills and Youth Opportunities in Zimbabwe through Evoke · March 26, 2026 · 44 min
• Building EdTech Systems: Lessons from Ethiopia and Mauritius in the World Bank–Mastercard Foundation Partnership · March 6, 2026 · 34 min
• How a Student in Ethiopia Is Using AI to Personalize Learning for Students Across Africa · November 28, 2025 · 36 min
• AI in Education: Rethinking Content and the Teacher’s Role · August 28, 2025 · 42 min
• Will AI Make Higher Education More Inclusive in Latin America? · August 7, 2025 · 32 min