I’m a bit concerned about how swiftly AI tools are being adopted mindlessly. Reflecting on my consultancy work with teachers, some people have unfortunately ignored my recommendations of cautious and critical adaptation and, keen to be early adopters and save time, are now a bit trapped by convenience.
One teacher recently said to me, ‘AI is so good - I don’t have to think anymore’. And although her sentiment was more about time-saving and she wanted to highlight the ease of better planning with AI - the comment made me feel really uncomfortable. My intention had been to introduce AI to help her to think more and it had accidentally achieved the opposite.
In another recent story - I attended a workshop where the presenter happily told attendees that Chat GPT had written most of the content. “I got this from Chat GPT’ and ‘just ask Chat GPT if you are not sure or want more’ - so the original authors and thought leaders of the content presented were notably and concerningly absent.
While AI tools can transform teaching and learning through automating the boring/admin bits, personalising content, enhancing accessibility and more - the too-speedy appropriation of content without proper scrutiny is problematic. In my conversations with school leaders who are sharing ‘great AI tools’ with staff, it’s evident that the convenience of AI apps is the most alluring aspect. The shiny new educational AI apps (of which there are many) and the desire and enthusiasm for quick fixes highlights that deeper exploration of ethical, practical, and long-term implications of AI is needed. And it is needed now before we are all mindlessly caught up in convenience.
My hope is that all educators retain an academic and rigorous critique of all things shiny and new. We must stop and ask critical questions: Are we using AI responsibly? Are we equipping our teams with the knowledge to evaluate these tools effectively? Are we fostering a culture that values transparency and accountability in this AI-driven era? Are we acknowledging our sources?
This blog post offers a series of thinking prompts for school leaders to help schools consider how, where, and why AI might be put to better use—not just for efficiency but for meaningful educational impact.
1.Identify Opportunities for AI in Education
Assess where AI can be most effective in supporting teaching and learning (e.g., automated grading, personalising learning, improving accessibility, providing examples of specific pedagogies).
Focus on areas where AI can handle repetitive tasks while leaving critical decisions to educators.
Thinking Prompt: Have opportunities for AI been identified? Have pros and cons of use cases been explored?
No: Conduct further needs analysis.
Yes: Proceed.
Not sure: Find out more about responsible uses of AI and ask yourself - where is it important to maintain a human touch on a task?
2. Develop a ‘How we will use AI’ Strategy
Create and share a clear pathway that aligns AI integration with school goals (e.g., improving student outcomes, reducing teacher workload).
Ensure the strategy is collaborative and includes input from all stakeholders (teachers, administrators, parents).
Thinking Prompt: Is there a clear strategy in place? Have we considered a future-proofing strategy?
No: Create or refine the strategy collaboratively.
Yes: Proceed.
Not Sure: Consider a ‘black hat’ meeting where you explore negative aspects of using AI in schools (and businesses). What are the ethical implications? What are the losses if a teacher outsources a specific task? Where would this need to be transparent?
3. Build a Culture of AI Critique
Encourage teachers and staff to explore AI tools through hands-on learning.
Integrate discussions about AI into professional development sessions and staff meetings.
Provide access to training resources (e.g., online courses, workshops).
Create a culture of review and critique rather than ‘blindly apply’
Showcase ‘bad prompts’ and bias and discuss outcomes
Provide time to collaboratively explore a range of tools and discuss how they could be used effectively, ethically and critically to augment teaching and learning
Thinking Prompt: Are we supporting staff members to be critical and informed about AI?
No: Foster more opportunities for exploration.
Yes: Proceed.
Not Sure: Check - are teachers using apps because they are easy? What evidence is there of augmented and improved practice? How is the learner’s experience enhanced?
4. Appoint an AI Literacy Advocate
Designate a teacher or administrator as an “AI Champion” to guide the school’s efforts.
This person should lead training sessions, address concerns, and advocate for responsible use of AI.
This person should be given time to be informed, test, collect use cases, collate data and be the ‘pulse’ for disseminating new information
Thinking Prompt: Is there an advocate leading AI literacy efforts?
No: Identify and appoint an advocate.
Yes: Proceed.
Not Sure: How are staff currently getting information? How are they choosing tools? Is there a shared understanding of what appropriate tools use looks like? How might teachers benefit from having an informed ally in critiquing tools?
5. Regulate Data Literacy and Security
What measures are in place for the safe sharing of data (including student writing)?
Find out about what happens to data that is used by LLMs
Create a flow chart or regulatory document to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive information
Find out about AI policy and recommended sharing protocols
Ensure data privacy and compliance within departments.
Thinking Prompt: Do we have regulations for data security?
No - Improve security and compliance measures.
Yes - Proceed.
Not Sure - What happens when teachers upload student work for grading support? Where does that data go? Has consent been given for intellectual property sharing? Consider some use cases and brainstorm what might happen if there was a breach of sensitive information.
6. Discuss Ethical Implications of AI
Educate staff and students on the pros and cons of using AI in education.
Address issues like data privacy, algorithmic bias, and academic integrity.
Thinking Prompt: Are ethical considerations of AI understood by all of the people using it? Have the environmental impacts of AI been explored?
No: Provide additional training and discussions.
Yes: Proceed.
Not Sure: There are pros and cons to every argument. Some say that the environmental cost of AI is too great and consequently avoid it altogether. Others are advocates for time-saving and convenience and are happy to turn a blind eye. How can you be informed and use AI purposefully and not wastefully? Have you considered the environmental impact of convenience?
7. Showcase Real-Life Examples of Success
Share case studies or examples of how other schools successfully use AI to solve problems (e.g., improving student engagement).
Gather data to measure engagement and improvements.
Explore best-use examples and aim for augmentation rather than replacement.
Thinking Prompt: Are teachers using tested examples to inform their planning?
No: Gather more relevant examples.
Yes: Proceed.
Not Sure: Conduct a survey to find out how teachers are using AI and encourage data gathering to measure growth. Use the appointed AI literacy advocate to hunt and gather global case studies to share. Consider how AI tools have been marketed and which pedagogies sit within the language model training.
8. Promote Academic Rigour
Find out where information comes from.
Don’t settle for ‘found it on Chat GPT’
Encourage transparency and critical literacy of AI
Encourage citations of content and explore ‘further reading’ as the next step.
Thinking Prompt: Are your staff maintaining appropriate research methodologies? Are they respecting the mana of the original author?
Yes: Proceed
No: Discuss the consequences of using content from the internet. Does it matter who originally wrote it? Does it matter when? Does it matter where?
Not Sure: We use and teach the CRAAP test and Rauru Whakarere frameworks for research in schools, is it important that we model it? Or not? This is up for discussion.
Upholding academic rigour in the age of AI requires critical literacy, transparency, collaboration, leadership and a deep respect for original sources. I hope these thinking prompts help you to lead these crucial conversations within your school to ensure that AI empowers rather than undermines education.
And a quick recommended reading:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/ive-got-bad-news-if-you-use-chatgpt-or-any-other-ai-as-your-main-search-tool
I hope that these thinking prompts were helpful for you.
Thanks for reading!