A fair number of teachers, including me, have used artificial intelligence in our lesson preparation.

If, and when, to use AI with students is another kettle of fish.

There have been a number of previous posts here exploring that question, and Katie Hull and I did some animated videos with Ed Week doing the same thing.

In addition, here are some additional ways teachers have used it with their students (and here are some ways to try and “AI-proof” lessons).

Today’s post is the first in a series where teachers will build on those previous posts and share their response to this question:

What are specific ways you are using—or not using—artificial intelligence in your teaching?

What Students Say About Using AI

Sarah Cooper teaches 8th grade U.S. history and civics and is the associate head of school at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada, Calif. She is the author of two books, Creating Citizens: Teaching Civics and Current Events in the History Classroom (Routledge) and Making History Mine (Stenhouse):

During the past school year, I wanted my 8th grade civics classes to be a place where students could experiment creatively with AI through large language models and image generators. I believe that AI is increasingly a helpful co-intelligence (as the title of an excellent book by Ethan Mollick describes it), and so I want students to see its possibilities, while still doing their own thinking.

As a result, in the directions for each major assignment, I included a section on how students could use AI, such as sketching out a theme for a mind map or a summary for a current events presentation.

At the end of the year, when each student picked seven out of several dozen prompts for a digital portfolio project, about a quarter responded to this one: “If you used AI in this class at all, describe what you did and how it was helpful or not helpful. Include how you might want to use AI ethically in your classes in the future.”

Here are some patterns of use they described, which helped me—as much as them—imagine the many possibilities for thinking along with AI:

Clarifying Concepts: A number of students used AI to help them understand a complex idea. One student said that AI helped her understand the motives and “true tragedy” behind the 9/11 attacks for a group project on war. Another asked a large language model to help her better understand what “overcapacity” implied in a New York Times article about China’s electric car factories: “While I was doing my annotations for this current event, I got confused since I did not fully understand what this quote meant, so I asked ChatGPT to break it down in simpler terms.”

Creating Visual Cues: This year, I often marveled as students worked from visuals to text rather than from words to visuals, whether story boarding a PSA or selecting a Slidesgo template—definitely the opposite of my linear, linguistic approach! As one student wrote, “I have used the AI that is in Canva many times to find images … [and] most of the images that it has made have been good enough to be on some of my projects.” He also had a tip: “Canva AI should work on making the image generation look similar to what you envision the image to look like in real life.”

Cleaning Up Writing: Last year Grammarly, QuillBot, and others upped their game so much that I sometimes thought a student had used a large language model to polish their writing when in fact they had just accepted Grammarly’s style tips. (If this happened, I reminded the student that we want to hear their voice, not someone else’s, because only they can write in their voice!) Students were grateful for AI’s proofreading abilities, including “ensuring that there were no grammar mistakes and suggesting stronger adjectives.” Calling on AI as editor can also be an equalizer for students who don’t have access to a tutor or a parent/guardian with time and English-language expertise at home (though, of course, students still need to know how to write).

Finally, these 8th graders offered cautions and reflections. Some were fundamental: “The only thing I don’t like is that ChatGPT sometimes get info wrong or doesn’t know where it got a quote from” and “AI had a hard time adding quotes from the text when I asked it to, and also when I asked for more statistics from the article that were very clearly written.”

Others tilted utilitarian: “I see myself using AI to help check my writing because it’s easy to use and I can manipulate it with my own instructions” and “When using AI, it was difficult to find ways to utilize it where it wasn’t doing all the work, rather just assisting in understanding.” And still others waxed existential: “I knew AI was advancing. … I just never fully realized its advanced, almost overpowering capability. In conclusion, AI is a valuable tool that should be used responsibly.” Amen to that!

Applying the 80/20 Rule

Adam Moler is a middle school social studies teacher with experience in creating technology-infused lessons and is recognized as a district and state leader in innovative social studies instruction:

As an 8th grade social studies teacher, I have found artificial intelligence to be a powerful tool for enhancing my students’ learning experience. By leveraging AI technologies, I have been able to create engaging, personalized lessons that cater to the diverse needs of my students.

One of the most significant benefits of AI is its ability to generate personalized content. Using AI tools like Claude, I can create reading materials tailored to my student’s specific needs and the context of our lessons. For example, as a review near the end of our unit on the U.S. Constitution, I used AI to generate an article incorporating details from previous class activities such as the tug-of-war on separation of powers and the Oreo models representing federalism.

I prompted the AI with our unit’s essential question, “How is our Constitution a model for limited government?” and mentioned the key concepts we had covered, such as popular sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, individual rights, and limited government. Claude AI then generated a personalized article that connected these concepts to our specific classroom experiences.

However, it’s crucial to remember that while AI can handle a significant portion of the content creation process, it’s not perfect. That’s where the 80/20 rule comes in: I aim to have AI generate around 80 percent of the initial content, but I always dedicate about 20 percent of my time to carefully reviewing, editing, and refining the AI-generated material. This ensures the final product is accurate, appropriate, and aligns with my learning objectives.

For instance, when using AI to create the Constitution article, I carefully reviewed the generated text to check for accuracy, clarity, and coherence. I made necessary edits to improve the flow of ideas, added examples to clarify key points, and ensured the language was suitable for my 8th graders. By combining the efficiency of AI with the critical eye of a human educator, I can create high-quality, personalized content that effectively supports student learning.

AI has also been invaluable in helping me provide differentiated instruction. When students miss class, I use AI to create review articles and activities to help them catch up. For instance, if a student misses a lesson on the Bill of Rights, I can input the key amendments and concepts into a Diffit, which generates a tailored review article and follow-up questions. I then review and edit the content, making sure it accurately reflects the material covered and is accessible to the student. This ensures all students have the necessary resources to succeed, regardless of attendance or pace.

Moreover, AI allows me to differentiate content based on students’ individual needs and interests. For example, I can tailor readings to match their Lexile levels, ensuring that the material is challenging but not overwhelming. Before generating, or converting, texts to different Lexile levels, I ask AI, “What do you know about Lexile levels?” Seeing what AI knows first will lead to better, accurate results. Additionally, I can use AI to generate articles in a tone that resonates with my students, such as having an AI tool explain a concept in the same style as a popular celebrity or relate it to a topic they’re passionate about, like football. By leveraging AI to create content that speaks directly to my students’ interests and abilities, I can increase engagement and make learning more relevant and enjoyable for them.

Additionally, I use AI to provide targeted feedback to students. After a CyberSandwich activity where students wrote paragraphs on how the Constitution exemplifies limited government, I had AI scan their work and compare it to earlier writing samples. The AI analyzed factors like evidence use, paragraph structure, and coherence. I then reviewed the AI’s analysis, verifying accuracy and adding my insights. This allowed me to track progress and identify areas for improvement, which I shared with my students through Google Classroom. By leveraging AI’s capabilities and combining them with my expertise, I can provide frequent, detailed feedback to support students’ growth with the skill of writing.

AI is also valuable for lesson planning. When I need engaging activities or fresh approaches to complex concepts, I turn to AI for inspiration. For instance, I used AI to adapt an escape-room activity when teaching checks and balances. I input the details and objectives, and the AI suggested tweaks to the guided notes, assessment questions, and Google form locks. I reviewed the suggestions, selecting the most relevant and effective ideas to fit my students’ needs. By collaborating with AI and applying my judgment, I created a customized, interactive learning experience that resonated with my students.

While AI offers numerous benefits, it’s crucial to use these tools responsibly and ethically. I always carefully review AI-generated content for accuracy and appropriateness, double-checking against reliable sources. Additionally, I use AI to supplement, not replace, my expertise as an educator. AI provides valuable insights, but ultimately, I make informed decisions about the content and activities that will best support my students’ learning.

Integrating AI into my 8th-grade social studies classroom has been a game-changer. By leveraging AI to create personalized content, differentiate instruction, provide targeted feedback, and enhance lesson planning, I have created a more engaging and effective learning environment. The key is to find the right balance—letting AI handle a significant portion of the workload but always dedicating time to critically review, refine, and adapt the generated materials.

As AI continues to evolve, I’m excited to explore new ways to harness its potential to support student success and make learning more accessible and impactful. I encourage fellow educators to experiment with AI but to approach it with care and judgment. By embracing AI as a partner and applying the 80/20 rule, we can unlock new possibilities for student learning and growth while maintaining the essential human element at the heart of teaching.

‘Creating Literacy Resources’

Meghan Hargrave is an experienced educator with over 15 years in the field and expertise in integrating artificial intelligence tools in the classroom. An international presenter and educational consultant, she has taught at Teachers College, Columbia University, regularly contributes to popular educational publications, and shares effective classroom strategies via social media @letmeknowhowitgoes:

Artificial Intelligence has become a key tool for creating literacy resources for teaching foundational skills. For several years, I have been working to enhance the teaching of these skills but, because of lack of resources, have found myself writing decodable texts, creating word sorts, making word ladders, and often settling for materials that “kind of” worked.

Now, AI helps me quickly generate decodable passages on needed skills and relevant topics, shared reading passages aligned with reading skills and content area topics, and multiple versions of texts to match a range of interests. Although it sometimes requires a few rounds of prompting or some revisions, AI has greatly improved our ability to create engaging and appropriate resources for students. Through the prompting, I have found that I am much clearer on what it is I am looking for and in turn have more clarity on what students need.

This said, I do not use AI as a stand-alone answer to any specific foundational-skill questions and do not fully trust it to create foundational-skill resources. I use it to get started but always analyze the output and often have to reprompt or make my own edits. It knows basic phonics, but I do not use it as a resource for teaching about phonics—it isn’t the expert on r-controlled vowels or routines for teaching high-frequency words. I still rely on research-based resources for teaching these foundational skills. AI assists in resource creation but does not replace the depth of traditional educational methods.

Thanks to Sarah, Adam, and Meghan for contributing their thoughts!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

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