When should we teach AI to students?

When should we start teaching AI to our students?

• College, because they're not responsible enough to know how to use it responsibly before then?

• High School because they'll need the skill when the get to college?

• Middle School because they need to understand the right/wrong ways now so they're not cheating later.

• Elementary because AI is integrated everywhere?

I think we need to teach AI at all levels. And why not? We have state requirements for health classes to cover sex education multiple times throughout the K-12 journey. Why not have something similar for AI education?  AI use is so prevalent at all levels now that it would be irresponsible for classes, schools, and districts not to provide something. Your students will use these tools with or without your training, but how responsible will their use be without the training?

The following is statistical information from a RAND survey panel in Sept 2025:

• 35% percent of district leaders reported that they provide students with training on AI.

• 34% of teachers reported having school or district policies on the use of AI related to academic integrity.

• 45% of principals reported having school or district policies or guidance on the use of AI in schools

• Over 80 percent of students reported that teachers did not explicitly teach them how to use AI for schoolwork.

AI use in schools is quickly increasing but guidance lags behind: Findings from the RAND survey panels (2025)

I think the thing that stands out to me is the gap between teachers, principals, and districts claiming to have AI policies and training, and the number of students who report to have been trained on it. 

It's irresponsible for schools not to provide some sort of training at every level.

There should be units at each reading/writing grade level (second grade and up) that teach grade-appropriate usage of AI while cautioning students of inappropriate use, remembering that it's not a real person, and emphasizing that it can sometimes give false or inappropriate information. What this looks like changes from Elementary through High School based on maturity, knowledge, and life experience.

Elementary (and Middle)

This is an excellent time to also showcase the creative partner side of AI:

• AI with image development

• Idea generation

• Story development

• Roleplaying opportunities

• Learning opportunities

But with that you have to emphasize the negatives to each of those

• AI hallucinations and false representations in images

• Difficulties in identifying real and fake images

• The potential to stifle your own creativity and critical thinking when handing it over to someone (or in this case, something) else

• The difficulty in separating fact from fiction and unintentionally viewing AI as a real person

• The bias in the images, such as emphasizing certain genders and races in careers

• The potential for getting false information or biased historical info

Middle School

At the middle school level, transference from AI as a creative partner to AI as an educational assistant is vital. 

This is when students really start to use AI to do their work for them (cheat) as they have more digital work and less monitoring - teachers no longer are able to closely work with individual students and lack the personal relationships and knowledge of students that elementary teachers have because teachers go from supervising 20-30 students 6-ish hours a day for a year to 120+ students per 12-18 weeks (only getting 45-ish minutes a day with them) - this is a significant relationship difference and likely accounts for a lot of the behavior and academic changes that many students struggle with at this stage in their lives. Pair that with the increased work load (both in school and as homework) and you could see why it becomes easier for students to justify cheating and more difficult for teachers to catch it. 

Middle school students need to be given explicit instructions in all classes and in all assignments as to what they can and can't use AI for, even if the instruction is "You are not allowed to use AI at all for this assignment". With this instruction, it's important that teachers provide examples and opportunities to explore good, class appropriate ways to use AI in their subject area. Think outside the box. Consider using AI to help students learn. Consider creating your own AI Bots (such as Google Gems) with explicit instructions that can then be shared with students to help walk them through certain assignments or act as a learning coach for specific content.

High School

At the high school level, teachers in all subject areas need to have policies in place for AI guidance and use in their class. Educators should consider posting AI expectations visibly in the classroom.

Though all teachers should showcase appropriate and inappropriate ways of using AI in their classroom multiple times through a course, there should also be classes designated for teaching digital with a special emphasis on appropriate and creative usage of AI as well as digital hygiene. These classes can dedicate more time to helping students understand:

• the history of AI (it's older than you think)

• what AI is (a statistics machine)

• how AI works - including the sycophantic nature of it

• the ethical concerns surrounding AI use (bias, hallucinations, environmental impact, potential job losses, learning and development, mental health, etc.)

At this level, students really need to address case studies in AI ethics and how AI usage in one class for one task might be completely inappropriate in another class or even in the same class but on a different task based on the standards being addressed, the course content being covered, or the teacher's expectations. 

Ultimately, introducing AI into the classroom comes down to a word I read in the article "AI's Future is in Our Hands" - titrate.

"Students and their teachers can prosper through carefully titrated AI use, high-quality pedagogical integration, and collaborative design and research.

Titrate is a chemistry term meant to emphasize careful measurements, gradual adjustments, and balance. Dumping students into AI without proper education is like mixing chemicals without properly measuring them... it's asking for a bad reaction. Similarly, telling students they can't use AI at all would be a balance in the wrong direction as they'll be behind in the technology advancements coming. We should instead be introducing AI in small, measured amounts until our students are well prepared for using it responsibly. This has to be done throughout their educational journey; it can't be considered a "one-and-done" teaching dump.

Suggestions for this "titrated approach" include:

• Gradual Introduction - this is helpful for teachers and students. As a teacher, you don't need to overhaul your entire curriculum to now use AI. Try introducing it in 1 assignment this semester, for just 1 class. See the result.

• Reaction Monitoring - Measure the benefits against the deficits after you've implemented AI in the classroom. Did student engagement AND student learning improve in any way? Did your work load lesson in any way? Was the AI accurate and helpful? If it was helpful, you now have 1 way you used AI that worked well. If it didn't, you can reevaluate or try a different approach/route.

• Iteration/Finding the "Sweet Spot" - Too little training & education and your students won't be ready for the future workforce. Too much AI and students become over reliant and will likely lack important skills they should have gained. Balance comes from AI literacy + AI use with clear guidelines, instructions, demonstrations, and expectations.

• AMLE - Eight Guiding Principles When Choosing to Use Or Not Use AI in the Classroom