AI isn’t coming to education. It’s already here.
Students are using AI to brainstorm ideas, summarize readings, revise writing, study for exams and, yes, sometimes complete work they were supposed to do themselves.
That leaves educators with an important question: Do we focus on preventing students from using AI, or do we teach them how to use it well?
Increasingly, the answer may be both.
From AI Use to AI Literacy
Knowing how to type a prompt into an AI tool isn’t the same as being AI literate. Students also need to know how to evaluate what AI gives them.
That means asking questions like:
- Is this information accurate?
- How could I verify it?
- What perspectives might be missing?
- Could bias be influencing this response?
- Should I disclose that I used AI?
- Is AI helping me think—or doing the thinking for me?
These aren’t just AI skills. They’re critical-thinking and information-literacy skills that students can carry into college, careers, and everyday life.
Make Student Thinking Visible
Trying to create completely “AI-proof” assignments may not be the best use of our energy.
Instead, we can design assignments that make learning visible. Ask students to show their brainstorming. Have them explain why they chose particular sources. Let them critique an AI-generated answer. Ask them to describe the revisions they made.
The goal isn’t necessarily to remove AI from learning. It’s to make sure students remain responsible for their thinking.
Try This Tomorrow
You don’t need a new curriculum or complicated AI policy to begin. Try one of these activities:
1. Spot the Problem
Give students an AI-generated response related to your content area. Have them identify inaccuracies, missing information, bias, or weak reasoning. Then ask: What would make this answer better?
2. AI vs. Me
Have students answer a question independently before viewing an AI-generated response to the same question. Ask them to compare the two: What did each do well? What did each miss?
3. Show Your Thinking
If students are permitted to use AI, add a short reflection to the assignment: How did you use AI? What did you accept, reject, or change—and why? What part of this work represents your own thinking?
Want to Dig Deeper? AI for Educators at Kent State
For educators interested in taking these ideas further, Kent State University’s College of Education and Human Services offers AI for Educators, a virtual, asynchronous credit workshop.
The course explores the intersection of AI and education, including practical classroom applications, ethical considerations, student learning and critical thinking, privacy and security, accessibility and inclusivity, and alternative approaches to assessment.
Participants also consider how to develop guidelines and best practices for integrating AI responsibly into their own educational settings.
The workshop is offered for two undergraduate or graduate credits and requires no textbook. Upcoming sessions begin on November 2, 2026, and April 12, 2027. Educators interested in using the credits toward license renewal should check with their local professional development committee (LPDC).
Explore AI for Educators and Registration.
One Question to Take With You
Educators don’t need to become AI experts overnight.
Instead, start with a question educators already know how to answer:
What do I want my students to be able to think, understand and do for themselves?
Then decide where AI supports that learning—and where it gets in the way.
The technology will continue to change. Our responsibility to help students become thoughtful, curious, critical learners won’t.
