How AI is reshaping teaching and learning in schools

URochester’s Warner School faculty share practical, research-based strategies for using AI in education to support teachers, not replace them.

(Initially published June 10, 2026, on the University of Rochester’s News Center)

When planning algebra lessons, Fred Young ’22W (AC), ’23W (AC)—a secondary math and computer science teacher in Dansville Central School District—turns to ChatGPT for inspiration. He often uploads classroom activities he has used before and asks the artificial intelligence tool for new ways to make them more engaging for students. He reviews the ideas generated, adapts the strongest ones, and builds them into his lessons.

“It’s a huge time saver,” says Young, an alumnus of the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education & Human Development. “I’ll get five or six options back, pick what makes sense, and modify it for my class.”

For Young, AI isn’t replacing teaching. Instead, it serves as a brainstorming partner, helping him reimagine familiar activities, create new opportunities to engage students, and spend less time on routine tasks and more time supporting learning.

According to the EdWeek Research Center, the percentage of teachers using AI tools in their K–12 classrooms nearly doubled in two years, from 34 percent in 2023 to 61 percent in 2025. The question is no longer whether educators are using AI for teaching, but how they are using it to significantly improve student learning.

Through the Warner School’s Center for Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA), teaching and curriculum experts, including Zenon Borys, Cynthia Carson, and Kristen Love, are helping teachers harness AI in ways that strengthen—not replace—high-quality instruction.

Drawing on their work with K–12 educators, Warner faculty members emphasize that the most effective uses of AI are not about automation for its own sake but are about supporting the everyday decisions teachers already make. From creating engaging lesson plans and family communication to personalized learning and professional reflection, AI teaching tools are increasingly helping teachers save time and focus more attention on students.

Make learning more accessible

Accessibility is about creating multiple entry points so every student can engage with complex ideas. AI can make teaching in schools more inclusive by helping educators more efficiently adapt educational content and materials to meet a wide range of student learning needs.

“Learning happens when students are supported just beyond their current level of understanding and can connect new ideas to prior experiences,” explains Love, an associate professor in teaching and curriculum, who directs the Warner’s early childhood education and elementary education teacher preparation programs. “AI helps teachers provide that support more efficiently, so students can engage with meaningful content rather than be shut out by it.”

Tools like Diffit, for example, can help teachers quickly generate different versions of classroom material. Educators can adjust reading levels, create vocabulary supports, translate passages into multiple languages, generate guided questions, and build summaries of graphic organizers from the same source text—all while keeping students focused on the same core learning goals. This allows teachers to spend less time rewriting materials and more time supporting student understanding and engagement.

Create more engaging and personalized learning

A common question students often ask is: “When will I ever use this material?” Research conducted by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan—both pioneering psychologists and longtime URochester faculty members—shows that students are more motivated when they see clear value in what they’re learning and feel a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. AI can help teachers design lessons that connect academic content to students’ interests and real-world experiences, making lessons more relatable and meaningful.

“Whether it’s rewriting a math problem around sneaker design, creating a story where students are the main characters, or connecting a science concept to a real community issue, AI makes it easier to answer the question, ‘When will I ever use this?’” says Borys, an assistant professor and assistant director of LiDA, as well as the director of the Warner School’s mathematics teacher preparation program.

Design assignments that encourage creativity

Traditional tests or essays don’t always capture every student’s understanding of course material. With AI, teachers can design more creative, alternative assignments, such as podcasts, videos, or hands-on projects that allow students to demonstrate what they’ve learned in more varied ways.

“AI should never replace student thinking; instead, it should expand how students demonstrate their learning,” says Love. “By leveraging AI tools, we can move away from rote testing and recall tasks, creating complex performance assessments that challenge students to apply their knowledge flexibly.”

In Young’s algebra classes, for instance, students conduct hands-on experiments—such as exploring relationships between variables—and compare their own conclusions with AI-generated responses, evaluating accuracy and discussing results.

“AI should never replace student thinking; instead, it should expand how students demonstrate their learning.”

In his computer science classes, students learn how AI works, including the difference between basic AI and large language models such as ChatGPT. They even build a simple rock-paper-scissors app using a Markov matrix—a mathematical model that predicts outcomes based on probabilities—to predict counter moves, which is an engaging way to introduce core AI concepts.

Strengthen communication with families using AI tools

Strong communication with families is an important—but often time-consuming—part of teaching. AI teaching tools such as Google NotebookLM and Magic School can help draft classroom newsletters, translate messages into families’ home languages, simplify complex information, and create engaging, easy-to-read communications in far less time. These tools can make family communication more consistent, clear, and accessible without adding to a teacher’s workload.

Using these AI tools, teachers can enter prompts such as: “Turn these notes into a family-friendly weekly update,” “Rewrite this email in a more welcoming tone,” or “Translate this message into Spanish at an accessible reading level.” Paired with tools like Canva, teachers can also create visually engaging communications that are easier for families to navigate and understand.

Research consistently shows that when families are informed and involved, students are more likely to succeed. AI doesn’t replace those relationships—it helps teachers maintain them more effectively and consistently.

Reflect on teaching to improve instruction

Structured reflection is one of the most powerful drivers of professional growth, and AI-supported tools make it more immediate, precise, and usable in practice.

“AI can serve as a thought partner, helping teachers analyze their lessons and identify opportunities for improvement,” says Carson, an assistant professor at LiDA and the Center for Professional Development and Education Reform. “Teachers can input a lesson plan in an AI tool, such as Colleague AI, and ask the tool to analyze it to anticipate where students might struggle, explore alternative explanations, and generate more effective questions. AI can also suggest different questioning strategies or generate likely student responses, helping teachers prepare more effectively.”

Carson notes that tools like Vosaic also support this kind of reflective practice by allowing teachers to record classroom instruction and then systematically review the videos. Educators can tag moments in a lesson—such as wait time, types of questions asked, student participation patterns, or teacher talk versus student talk—and review them themselves or with an AI “coach.” This makes instructional patterns more visible and gives teachers concrete, observable data to turn everyday teaching into actionable insights that can inform future instruction.

Keep teachers at the center

While AI tools can support teachers and students in powerful ways, they are most effective when paired with human judgment and oversight.

In the classroom, Young is intentional about how students use AI. He often reminds them that AI is not a shortcut but a tool, like a measuring tape: it helps you get the answer, but it doesn’t do the measuring for you.

“I’ll tell my students: if you’re stuck, you can ask AI tools for help, but then read the response, check it, and make sure you understand it,” Young says.

For newer teachers, especially, Young sees AI as a powerful way to reduce workload while building confidence.

“Use what you know about teaching and your students—and let AI make your life easier, he says. “But you still have to bring your expertise to it.”

Prepare for the future of AI and education

So will AI replace teachers?

Warner School faculty say no. While AI can help automate routine tasks such as drafting communications, adapting instructional materials, and supporting lesson planning, it cannot replace the relationships, professional judgment, and human connection that effective teaching requires.

To help translate the ideas into practice, the Warner School offers an Advanced Certificate in Artificial Intelligence for Educators, an online program designed to assist educators in building practical skills for using AI thoughtfully, responsibly, and effectively in their classrooms.

For educators, the opportunity is not to resist AI tools but to learn how to use them well. The most successful uses of AI in education are those that help teachers spend less time on administrative work and more time supporting students’ learning and growth.