AI in the classroom: UB expert offers tips for thoughtful and ethical use

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Artificial intelligence is reshaping conversations in schools, from the classroom to the principal’s office. While it offers new opportunities for analyzing data, supporting instruction, and streamlining daily tasks, its limitations and risks require careful attention.

As schools navigate these changes, educators and communities alike are asking how to strike the right balance between innovation and responsibility.

As an expert in equity-oriented educational leadership, Ian Mette, associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education, offers guidance to help families, teachers and administrators use AI thoughtfully and responsibly.

For parents, guardians and community members, Mette stresses the importance of talking with students about responsible AI use and being clear with expectations. This might include helping students understand that AI can be a starting point—a way to begin thinking about a solution to a problem or engaging with a prompt—but it does not replace critical thinking.

“We want to make sure our children can engage critically with addressing the needs of humans within our communities,” Mette said. “Families and community members can help students understand that humans, not AI, are needed to navigate our day-to-day world and work toward addressing societal inequities so every citizen can thrive.”

Mette says it’s important for teachers to set clear expectations for when AI can be used and when it is not appropriate. This includes designing a variety of activities that value higher-order thinking, prioritize student voice and encourage students to synthesize and create knowledge rather than simply repeat information.

“This type of thinking has been at the center of some debates within mathematics instruction for decades, specifically when calculators were introduced and there was concern that students wouldn’t be able to engage with mathematical concepts due to an overreliance on calculators. Most math teachers know that isn’t the case—calculators help students produce the beginning of an answer to a problem,” Mette said.

“Teachers should engage in helping students learn how to use AI ethically and in a way that helps them understand themselves and the world more fully.”

For educational leaders using AI, Mette says it’s important to continue to double check the data and results. While AI can jump-start a review of literature by suggesting potential authors, theories and sources, it is not exhaustive and occasionally generates inaccurate or nonexistent citations.

Education researchers and practitioners should treat AI’s output as a launchpad, then confirm and expand their search through databases like Google Scholar to ensure a complete and accurate review.

According to Mette, keeping AI human-centered across education is of importance because while AI can help inform responses to prompts—whether for class assignments, emails or policy decisions—it often misses nuance or misunderstands the question.

“It is our ethical responsibility as educators to critically examine what AI generates and to apply our own thinking to make the response our own and from a human perspective,” Mette said.