In late 2022, when generative AI tools landed in the hands of students, classrooms changed almost overnight. Essays written by algorithms appeared in inboxes. Lesson plans suddenly seemed outdated. And across the country, schools have been asking the same questions: How do we respond – and what happens next?
Some educators viewed AI as a threat that enabled cheating and undermined traditional teaching. Others see it as a tool for transformation. But a growing number are taking an entirely different path: teaching students to work with AI critically and creatively while developing essential literacy skills.
The challenge is not just about introducing new technologies. It’s about reimagining what learning looks like when AI is part of the equation. How do teachers create tasks that cannot easily be assigned to generative AI tools? How do elementary school students learn to question AI-generated content? And how do educators integrate these tools without losing sight of creativity, critical thinking, and human connection?
Recently, EdSurge spoke with three educators who are tackling these questions head-on: Liz Voci, an elementary school instructional technology specialist; Pam Amendola, a high school English teacher who reimagined her Macbeth unit to include AI; and Brandie Wright, who teaches fifth and sixth graders in a microschool, integrating AI into sustainability lessons.
EdSurge: What led you to integrate AI into your teaching?
Fine: When OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November 2022, it shook up education and sent teachers scrambling. Students were suddenly using AI to complete their homework. Many students thought: Why should I fill out a worksheet when AI can do it for me? Why write a discussion article when AI can do it better and faster?
Our education system was built for an industrial age, but we now live in a technological age where tasks are accomplished quickly. Learning at school should be a time of discovery, but education remains stuck in the past. We are in a place that I call between. In this place, I discovered the need to educate students on AI knowledge alongside the themes and structure of the English language.
I reinvented my Macbeth unit to integrate AI with traditional learning methods. I taught Acts I-III using proven approaches, integrating knowledge of both Shakespeare and AI into each act. In Act IV, students recreated their assigned scenes using generative AI to create an original film. For Act V, they used block programming for the robots to play out their scenes. My assessment had nothing to do with writing an essay, so it was impossible to deceive. I encouraged students to work with me to design the lesson so that I could determine the best way to help them learn.
Voice : Last fall, I attended a literacy meeting with administrators and teachers where I heard concerns that the new science of reading materials was not sparking student interest. Even though the books were very accessible, students had no interest in reading them. It was my lightbulb moment. If we could use AI tools to develop engaging and accessible reading passages for students, we could also teach fundamental AI skills at the same time.
It’s here The perfect book project was born. Students work with teachers to develop their own perfect reading book that is both engaging and accessible, learning literary skills as well as how to work with and evaluate AI-generated content. As part of its pilot project, I worked directly with teachers as students conceptualized, wrote, edited, and published their books. I’ve spent hundreds of hours creating prompts with content guardrails, accessibility constraints, and research-based literacy foundational knowledge to guide students and teachers through the process.
Wright: I do a lot of work around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goalsteaching our explorers the impact of our actions not only on ourselves but also on others and the environment. I wanted to see them use AI to expand their knowledge and serve as a thought partner in developing solutions to problems like climate change.
I created a lesson called “Investigating Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Our Spaces.” Explorers participated in a sustainability scavenger hunt around campus to find examples of energy-efficient items and sustainable practices. They used AI tools to analyze their results, interpret and evaluate the AI responses in terms of accuracy and potential bias, and think about how technology and human decisions work together to create sustainable solutions. AI in this lesson was not about the tools they were using, but rather how AI was viewed in the context of what they were learning.
What changes in student learning have you observed?
Voice : A telling moment took place during my first lesson on hallucinations and prejudices with a third year class. After introducing the concepts at an appropriate developmental level, I had them proofread their manuscripts through the lens of an AI hallucination and bias detective. It didn’t take long for the first student to find the first hallucination. There was an incorrect score during a football match. The AI counted a touchdown for a point. A student’s hand went up; he was so excited to explain to me and the class how the model scored the game wrong.
This discovery prompted the rest of the class to start looking more closely at each word of their text and not taking it literally. The class then discovered other hallucinations and generalizations that did not represent their intentions.
Wright: I saw the explorers develop their critical thinking skills by asking questions about how the AI was used, how the AI makes its decisions, and whether it affects the environment. I really appreciate this age group retaining their creativity and imagination. They don’t want AI to create for them. They always want to draw their own pictures and tell their own stories.
Fine: It was uncomfortable for my honors students to try something new. They were out of their element and craved the structure of the section. I first had to abandon traditional grading structures before I could help them accept ambiguity. Their willingness to explore and make mistakes was wonderful. The collaboration helped create a sense of classroom community that resulted in learning a new skill.
What advice would you give to teachers who are hesitant to explore AI?
Fine: Don’t be afraid to try new things. Keep in mind that the greatest success first requires a change in mindset. Only then can you open the doors to what generative AI can do for your students.
Voice : Don’t let the fear, weight, and speed of AI advances paralyze you. Find small, intentional steps grounded in human-centered values to move forward with your own knowledge, then find ways to connect your new knowledge to support student learning. In the age of AI, we must give our fellow educators the same resources, the same scaffolding, and the same grace.
Wright: Get started!
Join the movement on https://generationai.org to participate in our ongoing exploration of how we can harness the potential of AI to create more engaging and transformative learning experiences for all students.