Educators Share How They Implement AI in Their Classrooms

As more educators and their students embrace different types of AI, they are describing how it improves their teaching and sharing best practices for AI success.

“At first, it's daunting and scary for teachers — it’s just another thing they must learn,” says Harmon. “But once they see how effective these tools are for them, they’re on board.”

At Westhill, teachers also use Google NotebookLM, which helps them align lessons and assessment questions to state standards and allows them to dig deeper into the data. Brisk, a Chrome extension, is another go-to tool that Westhill teachers use for lesson planning and to assist with feedback on student writing. They also use it with Google Slides to create presentations from website and video sources.

DISCOVER: See how AI can defeat burnout and boost productivity for teachers.

Copilot Helps Navigate Lesson Planning

Lesson planning was one of the first tasks that came to mind for Superintendent Jeremy Calles when the Tolleson Union High School District — an Arizona district of nearly 14,000 students — decided to acquire Microsoft Copilot licenses for the entire staff.

WestEd, a nonprofit education research, development and service agency, had recently reviewed TUHSD’s curriculum and recommended improvements in lesson planning.

“It allowed me to approach teachers and say, ‘We just bought you all licenses for Microsoft Copilot, and it can create your lesson plan in about 20 seconds,’” recalls Calles. “It gave them a little push to write their lesson plans through Copilot. We encourage them to look it over — Copilot’s not perfect — and if they like it, they can run with it. If they need to tweak it, then they tweak it.”

How Microsoft’s AI Tool Can Supercharge Professional Development

TUHSD also invested in Sibme AI, a professional learning platform for educators. The district uses Sibme to record videos of teachers giving lessons in their classrooms and then offers AI-informed feedback on a variety of instructional facets, including student engagement and topic focus.

“Teachers can ask the AI prompting questions about the video, such as ‘What percentage of the time am I teaching on grade level?’ And it will tell them,” says Calles. “Sibme gives them detailed feedback, but it doesn’t do the critical thinking for them. It’s a tool for provoking thought.”

Such professional learning opportunities with AI are necessary for schools that want to bring this dynamic technology into their learning environments.

Amos Fodchuk, president and founder of Advanced Learning Partnerships, has supported 175 school systems in integrating AI systemwide. “Districts that prioritize purposeful professional learning for AI are creating foundations that will force-multiply their progress and deliver accelerated adoption,” he says. “Rather than simply training teachers to use a tool, building coaching and design support and strategy around learning outcomes that harness AI is a more sustainable investment.”

Back in upstate New York, Westhill administrators are taking a more organic approach to the district’s professional development. “We’ve done sessions with hands-on workshops to introduce the tools. We’ve done webinars and asynchronous and synchronous classes online,” explains Harmon. “Right now, it’s more of a grassroots approach. Teachers don’t always have time to sit and learn something new.”

RELATED: Three ways schools can use AI for student engagement.

Schools Steer Students Toward Ethical AI Use

In addition to providing AI-specific professional development for teachers, schools are guiding students in their use of AI, helping address widespread concerns about plagiarism and a loss of critical-thinking skills.

“We created student guidelines with a TeachAI toolkit,” says Harmon. “We went through focus groups with teachers, then a focus group with parents to give feedback, and finally we published the guidelines to the parents and students. The teachers ask students to adhere to those guidelines and make sure they understand AI’s pitfalls.”

At TUHSD, Calles says they are making similar efforts. “We teach students to view AI as a thought partner,” Calles adds. “They can start a discussion with AI to get them going. Then we guide them to put their own flavor on it. We show them how to work with the AI and how it can help them get started. But it’s not everything.”

Fodchuk says clear communication about what is appropriate — and what is not — when designing high-quality learning experiences with AI is key to putting districts like TUHSD and Westhill on the right path.

“There could be certain components within a project that leverage AI as a brainstorming tool,” he explains. “In other areas, there’s no use of technology at all. And in still other areas, AI is used as a co-writer. It needs to be clearly communicated.”

3 Tips for AI Success

The dizzying pace of AI innovation is not slowing down, so educators need to lay the groundwork now or risk being left behind. Here are three tips for schools looking to successfully introduce this technology to their classrooms.

1). Be Open and Visible

“Be transparent. Use platforms like LinkedIn and local school and district meetings to showcase what teachers are learning,” suggests Amos Fodchuk, president and founder of Advanced Learning Partnerships.

2). Reach Out to Other Schools

“You don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” says Calles. “We’re very collaborative among school districts. We share ideas. We’re all here for our communities. So, reach out to the districts in your state that are known to be leaders in this area.”

3). Model Supportive Leadership

“I’m lucky to have a supportive administrative team,” says Katie Harmon, educational technology director at Westhill Central School District. “My superintendent and assistant superintendent for curriculum have fully embraced AI. They use it every day in their work life. They talk about it and give good examples of how it can be used. They’re using it in their PD with teachers. I think that helps tremendously in making headway with any technology, but especially with AI.”