We Can’t Teach What We Weren’t Trained to Use: The Case for Artificial Intelligence Professional Development

Unless you have been living in the wilderness for the last several years, you know the hot new buzzword is AI (artificial intelligence). It is not even so much a buzzword anymore as it has become commonplace and has permeated every facet of our lives. From the workplace to home, AI has promised to make our lives easier and more efficient. But what does this mean in the world of education? 

There are a myriad of questions and concerns swirling around the use of AI in education. From the ethical and practical implications to what students need to know about using AI, there is no shortage of uncertainty about what the future holds. However, over the last several years one thing has become clear; AI is here and it’s not going anywhere. If schools don’t adapt fast, we will fall further and further behind. 

With AI changing at a breakneck pace, it seems an impossible task for schools to keep up. Impossible or not, students need to be taught about this technology in a way that will help them adapt as quickly as it changes. In order to teach students how to use AI, teachers need a solid foundational knowledge of the resources. To that end, it is imperative that school districts start providing teachers with quality professional development around the use of AI in the classroom. 

As a K-5 STEM teacher in a suburban school district outside of the Twin Cities, most of my colleagues who use AI use it to help them be efficient in their work for writing emails, helping with lesson planning, or maybe the occasional grading task. Most are not using AI with their students yet. This might explain the statistic that only 32 percent of students think their teachers know how to use AI and only 30 percent of students are confident that their teachers can teach them how to use (Kelley & Holquist, 2025). As a STEM educator, this is an alarming statistic and points squarely to the need for more professional development around teaching students to use and understand AI.

Teachers are not to blame for their lack of knowledge of how to teach students to use AI. Most have far too many things on their plates already with testing requirements, parent communications, classroom management, and new curriculum initiatives. It is up to the school administration to find ways to support teachers with AI instruction. The first thing that teachers need when trying to use AI in the classroom is familiarity with and understanding of the technology. In a study by Musgrove et al. on teacher’s TPACK and its role in 1:1 device adoption, researchers found that a teacher’s perceived ease (PEU) of use and perceived usefulness (PU) of a given technology was a determining factor of whether or not the program was successful (Musgrove et al., 2021). I believe these results can be extrapolated to use of AI with students. Starting with PEU, teachers must themselves first understand how the technology works before effectively teaching it to others. In order to be able to teach it to others, they must also perceive it as something useful for their students. This is where if teachers can increase their TPACK around AI, they will have an easier time using it themselves and seeing how it can be applied in their classroom. 

The type of PD districts provide around AI is also critically important. When I spoke to the director of Teaching and Learning in my district about providing PD for teachers, she agreed that teachers need training around AI. The challenge, as she sees it, is to make sure that professional development is embedded in other PD and not just stand alone training. Teachers rarely get much out of a stand alone PD session. Integrating AI training into other professional development that is immediately applicable to the job is more effective. Teachers are far more likely to use the training if they see an immediate path in their current instruction and curriculum to do so. Districts could also provide additional support through media and technology integration specialists as a very effective way to support teachers in using AI with students. Seeing an expert use a tool like AI first is a great way to build confidence in teaching it yourself and implementing mentorship from these specialists would be highly effective.

Districts must also take the time, if they haven’t already, to craft policies around the use of AI to provide guidance to teachers, students, and families about its use. Having a policy in place around AI “gives clarity to students and teachers about when it is appropriate to use AI in school” (Vilcarino, 2026). Common concerns around AI include ethical use, data privacy, and copyright infringement. There has also been pushback in recent years on the use of technology in schools in general and some might say that we shouldn’t be using AI with students at all. Some of this is warranted by real concerns that technology may be negatively impacting student achievement (Marcinek, 2026). Even in my own practice I have found myself reverting back to paper and pencil for many activities that I used iPads for following the pandemic when everything shifted towards 1:1 devices. 

However, as Andrew Marcinek points out, the real issue is giving students powerful platforms with no guidance from their teachers on how to navigate those platforms, not the technology itself. Providing students with the critical thinking skills and tools to use that technology is what is most important. Students need to learn these practical and ethical considerations around AI just as much as teachers do in order to begin to understand the role AI should play in their education and future. In order to be able to do that, teachers need effective professional development on the use of AI technology, specifically with students in mind. 

Districts need to be proactive about making sure their teachers are aware of their policies around AI. In my own experience, I was unaware that our district had a dedicated webpage to AI policy and recommendations until it was pointed out to me in a conversation with an administrator on this topic. Doing the work of writing the policy is step one but promoting it and educating teachers and staff on it is just as important. This is something that should be part of a larger PD program initiative regarding AI in the classroom. It is crucial that districts provide clarity around acceptable use of AI so teachers can educate their students about what is appropriate as well.

The use of AI in education presents exciting opportunities but also challenges to school districts across the country. It has the potential to help students get more personalized learning experiences and deepen their understanding of how this technology will continue to shape the future. In order to fully capitalize on the potential AI creates, teachers need to be trained on its use and application in their classrooms. Understanding the technology, how it works, and what can be done with it will give teachers the key to unlock the door to students being even more innovative and knowledgeable users of AI in the future. 

Works Cited 

1. Kelley, C., & Holquist, S. (2025, November 4). Why school districts need AI policies to support STEM education. Child Trends. 

2. Marcinek, A. (2026, April 14). The viral video that’s getting EdTech wrong — again. Think Forward. https://andrewmarcinek.substack.com/p/the-viral-video-thats-getting-edtech 

3. Musgrove, A., Powers, J., Nichols, B., & Lapp, S. (2021). Exploring the Role of Elementary Teachers’ TPACK in the Adoption of 1:1 Computing Across Subject areas. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 17(1). 

4. Vilcarino, A. P. (2026, January 30). How school districts are crafting AI policy on the fly. Education Week. 

https://www.edweek.org/technology/how-school-districts-are-crafting-ai-policy-on-the-fly/ 2025/10

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