To Use AI with Students – or – Not to Use AI with Students? The Ongoing Debate: AI in the Classroom

By William Reed

As I travel across Indiana giving AI professional development sessions and speaking with teachers at various schools, I’ve encountered a wide range of perspectives on AI in education. Some educators are excited about its potential, while others have legitimate concerns.

If teachers continue using traditional teaching methods without adapting, AI might not be the best fit for their classrooms. However, AI is here to stay! Every Fortune 500 company relies on AI, just as businesses and professionals rely on email, social media, and smartphones. As educators, we must ask ourselves: How can we appropriately integrate AI into our classrooms?

Addressing Teacher Concerns

One of the biggest concerns surrounding AI in education is its potential for enabling cheating, plagiarism, and a lack of student engagement in their own work.

These concerns are absolutely legitimate. However, I believe two important truths apply here:

1. Simple classroom adjustments can significantly mitigate these risks.

   
   

2. While we can never eliminate these issues entirely, we can implement best practices to minimize them.

   
   

Teachers must recognize that attempting to control elements beyond our influence only leads to frustration and burnout, distracting us from what truly matters in education. Rather than trying to eliminate all risks—an impossible task—teachers should focus on strategies that mitigate them while still leveraging AI’s benefits.

Open Discussions and Accountability

Start with honest conversations about using AI as a tool rather than a replacement for learning. Help students understand that cheating only deprives them of education, future opportunities, and personal knowledge. After establishing these expectations with both students and parents (through letters, emails, newsletters, or back-to-school events), implement grading policies that prioritize:

1. Tests

2. Quizzes

3. Classroom Participation

   
   

This approach places less emphasis on assignments that can be easily completed by AI, focusing instead on demonstrated knowledge and understanding.

Rethinking Writing Assignments in the AI Era

When I ask English and Composition teachers "How much AI is too much?", many insist students shouldn't use AI at all for writing assignments. Yet these same educators encourage computer and tablet use for writing because of legibility concerns.

This creates a contradiction: modern word processors already incorporate AI through predictive text, spell checkers, and grammar tools. The question of "how much AI" becomes more complex than it initially appears.

Effective Writing Practices with AI

Consider these approaches for English/Language Arts instruction:

• Require handwritten rough drafts – These can be submitted alongside final papers.

• Implement peer editing sessions  – A process that should be done before AI refinement.

• Add reflective cover pages – Develop a cover sheet where students explain how they used AI in their writing process and what they learned by comparing their editing with AI suggestions.

  
  

This comprehensive approach transforms AI from a potential shortcut into a valuable learning tool that enhances the writing process.

Reimagining Math Instruction with AI Support

Math teachers worry students will simply have AI solve problems rather than learning concepts themselves. However, our ultimate goal is for students to understand and apply mathematical principles, demonstrating mastery through discussions, quizzes, and tests.

How AI Can Support Math Learning:

• Create Step-by-Step Guides – Use AI to generate detailed sample problems and solutions for students to analyze.

  
  

• Student-Led Teaching – Assign small groups of students a math problem, along with an AI-generated step-by-step guide. Allow them to prepare and present the problem to the class, reinforcing their understanding through teaching.

  
  

• Focus on Application – Ensure assessments prioritize problem-solving and real-world application rather than rote computation.

  
  

This method transforms students from passive observers into active participants, deepening their understanding of mathematical concepts through teaching others. Let’s face it, we as teachers, learned more about the math being taught, when we had to teach it to our students than we ever did sitting in a math class in high school or college learning the math ourselves.

Embracing AI as an Essential Educational Tool

AI represents a skill set that students and teachers must master to thrive in today's society. Understanding when, how, and why to use AI properly is becoming essential knowledge. AI is not a threat—it’s a tool that students must master to be competitive in today’s world. If educators refuse to embrace AI, they risk doing a disservice to their students.

If we fail to incorporate this technology into our teaching practices, we do our students a significant disservice. By integrating AI thoughtfully, we can ensure that students are actively learning while also preparing them for a future where AI literacy is a critical skill. Our role as teachers is not to resist change but to adapt and use new technologies in ways that benefit student learning.

As educators who entered this profession to support student success, embracing appropriate AI integration represents a powerful opportunity to prepare students for their future.

Embracing AI in the classroom is not just about staying current—it’s about preparing students for success in a world where AI is an integral part of daily life.

The question isn't whether to use AI with students—it's how to use it effectively to enhance learning while maintaining educational integrity.