Artificial intelligence is now part of the education conversation, and it is not going away. But just because it is available does not mean it should replace good teaching. AI should never be used to remove the thinking from learning. It can be used to support brainstorming, help students organize ideas, or suggest revisions, but it cannot and should not replace student thinking.
AI tools like ChatGPT are trained on large amounts of internet content, which includes bias, misinformation, and irrelevant or outdated information. That means it is up to us, as teachers, to guide students in using AI responsibly. We must teach them to verify information, question sources, and make decisions based on evidence.
In Promises and Perils of AI in Education, by Ken Shelton and Dee Lanier, the authors stress the importance of ethics, bias awareness, and digital literacy when using AI in the classroom. I agree. AI should be used with intention. Students need to understand how it works, what its limitations are, and how to use it to enhance, not replace, their thinking.
Use AI in your classroom to:
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Generate discussion prompts and have students critique or revise them.
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Help students brainstorm multiple perspectives before forming an opinion.
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Provide different ways to explain a concept, and then have students determine which is best and why.
AI can be helpful, but we must keep pedagogy at the center of its use.
