AI in the Classroom - Daily

The Eighth Graders Asking Better Questions Than the Adults

In this episode we explore what eighth-grade students in California are asking about AI. We reflect on a recent classroom visit and use students’ own questions to examine what young people already understand about AI, what they are unsure about, and why their concerns about fairness, cheating, fake work, and feedback matter for educators and district leaders. Topics covered: * How students are experiencing AI feedback in real classrooms * The limits and risks of AI detection tools * What student questions reveal about AI literacy * Why transparency matters when AI gives feedback * How AI use can affect students’ sense of fairness * What teachers and districts should consider before adopting AI tools * Why process, not just final writing products, matters in assessment

Sal Khan Learned by Making. He Designed for Receiving.

In this episode we explore the debate around Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI tutor, and what its struggles reveal about the difference between explaining content and actually supporting learning. Topics covered: * Why Khanmigo was described as “a non-event for most students” * The difference between a great explainer and a true tutor * How Sal Khan learns * Why students often need more than prompts and explanations * What AI tutoring tools may misunderstand about motivation and learning * How teachers can evaluate whether an AI tool supports real student thinking * What instructional coaches should help teachers notice about AI products * What district leaders should ask vendors before buying AI tutoring tools Sources: https://punyamishra.com/2026/04/16/why-sal-khant-on-learning-by-making-but-teaching-by-telling/ https://substack.com/inbox/post/197857852

When AI's Plausible Comparisons Reach the Classroom

In this episode we examine a published analysis comparing civilian casualties at Gettysburg with civilian casualties in Gaza in 2024, and explain why the comparison is historically incoherent.  Topics covered: * Why AI-generated comparisons can sound plausible while being misleading * The difference between factual accuracy and content-area coherence * What the Gettysburg/Gaza analogy gets wrong * Why teacher subject-matter knowledge is essential in an AI-rich classroom * How AI-generated “slop” can pass through editorial and instructional review * What classroom teachers should look for before using AI-generated materials * Why instructional coaches need content-area reviewers * What district leaders should ask vendors about educator review processes Sources: https://www.techlearning.com/technology/ai/in-an-ai-classroom-content-knowledge-matters-more-than-ever https://www.edsurge.com/news/2026-01-12-ai-is-changing-classrooms-teacher-expertise-still-sets-the-direction

AI Is Taking Root in Coaching. What's the Comparison Group?

In this episode we explore why AI is increasingly showing up in education as a tool for coaching and feedback. We look at Renaissance Philanthropy’s discussion of the Gates Foundation’s AI initiative, which is exploring whether AI can help support teacher coaching in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa. Topics covered: * Why teacher coaching and feedback are emerging as a major role for AI in education * What the Gates Foundation initiative is trying to explore in sub-Saharan Africa * Why “better than nothing” is a powerful but risky standard for AI tools * What AI coaching could mean for teachers, instructional coaches, and district leaders Sources: https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/insights/embedding-ai-where-it-matters-teacher-support-and-instructional-practice-in-sub-saharan-africa https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Solution-Creating-Sustaining-Successful/dp/1664444459

What an AI Lawsuit Looks Like From the Classroom

In this episode we explore a federal lawsuit involving Palo Alto Unified School District, a student essay flagged by Turnitin’s AI detector, and the much larger question underneath the case: what should schools actually do when an AI-detection tool raises a red flag? Topics covered: * The Palo Alto lawsuit over a student essay flagged as AI-generated * The workload problem for teachers managing repeated AI flags * False positives and the limits of tools like Turnitin’s AI detector * Why paper-only rewrites can create equity and accessibility concerns * What instructional coaches can do to create shared schoolwide expectations * How district leaders can stress-test their academic integrity process * The difference between investigating authorship and grading student performance Sources: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/palo-alto-schools/2026/05/11/parent-sues-palo-alto-school-district-over-artificial-intelligence-procedures/ https://www.vanderbilt.edu/brightspace/2023/08/16/guidance-on-ai-detection-and-why-were-disabling-turnitins-ai-detector/ https://news.mit.edu/2026/study-ai-chatbots-provide-less-accurate-information-vulnerable-users-0219