AI won’t replace teachers but poor judgement might

Every week another headline asks whether artificial intelligence (AI) will replace teachers. The real question is this: Are we preparing future teachers to know when AI is right and when it is wrong? Teachers are using it to generate lesson plans, write assessments, develop rubrics and to create classroom resources in minutes.

The temptation is to believe that because AI is fast, it must also be accurate. My recent research explored how preservice teachers used AI to design curriculum aligned assessments. Most student teachers embraced AI because it saved time and generated creative ideas.

They used tools such as ChatGPT, Conker AI and other platforms to develop questions, assessment structures and learning activities. AI reduced the burden of starting from a blank page and helped spark new ideas.