Are Young Educators All In on AI—or Not?

By: Ali Schalop, Contributor

Published: April 17, 2026

First Appeared In NEA Today for Aspiring Educators, Spring 2026

Raised on Technology

As the first generation of digital natives prepare to enter the classroom, artificial intelligence (AI) is just as new to them as it is to more experienced educators. Are young educators welcoming AI as a valuable classroom tool, or are they concerned about learning, creativity, and critical thinking, just like their more seasoned colleagues? Here, future and active teachers share how they are using AI—and predict how it may shape their future classrooms.

Is AI here to stay?

Ethan Rapp, a rising senior who is studying secondary history education at Pennsylvania Western University—Edinboro, says he created his first ever lesson plan with the help of AI.

“I asked AI to give me some ideas. I hated all of them, but it got me thinking about what was a good idea, what was a bad idea, and what I could use in the future,” Rapp says.

AI, whether you love it or hate it, is unavoidable in today’s world. The EdWeek Research Center found that the percentage of teachers using AI-driven tools in their classrooms nearly doubled between 2023 and 2025. Another survey, conducted by Gallup, found that nearly 60 percent of teachers used AI in the past school year.

“Some people might not want to talk about AI, ... but we can’t ignore it,” Rapp says. “It’s something that’s going to be around for a while.”

Susana Pacheco

Studio Lou

Digital Natives Weigh AI's Impact

Susana Pacheco, a rising senior at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro Campus, agrees. “AI is just everywhere in terms of research, ... and everybody already has their own opinion of it,” says Pacheco, who is studying elementary and special education.

The Pros

Many overloaded educators already know that AI can help fast track some tasks. One national survey found that teachers who use AI tools at least weekly save an average of 5.9 hours per week. This is critical time that teachers, who are facing historic levels of burnout, can reinvest into other priorities.

Kristin van Brunt, an instructional coach in Davis County, Utah, says AI gives me a lot of time to do other aspects of my job. ... It can be so helpful.”

AI can also function as an equalizer, helping bridge gaps for students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, Rapp says.

As long as a student has internet access, AI can act as a “personalized tutor” that’s always available to meet individual students exactly where they are in their learning needs. Human educators, on the other hand, may need to cater to multiple students at once while dealing with multiple other demands and a busy schedule, Rapp notes.

Pacheco also says AI could be really helpful for language translation. She shares how growing up as a child of Venezuelan immigrants and a native Spanish speaker, she often served as a translator for multilingual learners. “AI would really help close that gap,” she says.

Under-resourced schools that lack dedicated multilingual support services can use AI to instantly translate communications between teachers, students, and families, Pacheco notes. This can also reduce the burden on students like her, who are informally pushed into the role of translator.

Many active teachers agree that AI can close persistent learning gaps. One poll found that nearly 60 percent of teachers believe AI improves the accessibility of learning materials for students with disabilities.

The Cons

Pacheco also has some big reservations about AI. She shares that she used one AI program with an option to create individualized education programs (IEPs).

“It felt insane to me” she says. “IEPs specifically are so personalized. You need to know that student.”

She also worries that it may be dangerous to share students’ names, ability status, and other personal data with AI machinery, as users still don’t know where that data is going or if it’s protected.

Rapp has his own concerns. He warns that teachers should “never fully rely on it because of its hallucinations and miscalculations.” Rapp recalls, when researching a paper, he asked ChatGPT for 10 court cases on homeschooling in Pennsylvania.

Quote byEthan Rapp, NEA Aspiring Educator

Within those resources it handed back to me, some were federal court cases, some were not even related to homeschooling, and some were entirely made up.

—Ethan Rapp, NEA Aspiring Educator

Even the co-founder of Anthropic, the maker of the popular AI bot Claude, told the Associated Press that all AI models suffer from hallucinations.

More pen and paper

As Rap looks toward his future in the classroom, he imagines that schools will increase in-person assignments and predicts, “We’re going to see a lot more pen and paper.”

Pacheco, who plans to become a math teacher, warns that AI is rapidly changing. “We can’t predict how we’ll be using it in even six months’ time,” she says.

Still, she remarks that AI simply can’t do some projects. “I don’t think a student is going to be able to get a physical model of the solar system done solely using AI,” Pacheco says. “That will require some elbow grease for sure.”

AI in College Classrooms

There is little evidence that future educators receive consistent training in the use of AI tools. Rapp says he took a class called “Technology and Teaching,” which instructs future educators on how to leverage AI in the classroom.

Pacheco says professors will devote a day to it in some classes. “There isn't any written curriculum on it," she says.

Educator-Tested Tips for Using AI in Your Classroom

Try some of these strategies, recommended by fellow educators, for using artificial intelligence (AI) effectively and responsibly in your practice.

Create Unique Lessons

Oregon English teacher Cherie Shields says AI has improved her teaching methods. For her high school science fiction unit, she asked ChatGPT to generate 10 different project options. Instead of a traditional essay, the program suggested imaginative projects, such as creating and explaining a poster of an alien.

She encourages fellow educators to give AI a test drive, too.

“The best way to learn anything new is just to jump right in and try it out,” Shields says.

Similarly, California English teacher Kim Lepre says AI can simplify and improve educators’ everyday lives. Lepre uses ChatGPT to differentiate
instruction, generate quizzes, and even email parents, saving more time to interact with students.

Through the website, Lepre created a new lesson for a unit about the Salem witch trials. The program helped her generate an article for her seventh-grade students, plus 10 variations of a multiple-choice quiz.

Differentiate materials and rethink instruction

AI can translate assignments into a student’s native language or simplify materials for new language learners. For example, you could prompt it to “rewrite this at a fourth-grade reading level” or “translate this reading into Arabic.”

AI can also present a different approach to instruction. The program can simplify instructions and reevaluate materials.

When Lepre got stuck while teaching a literature lesson about text evidence, she turned to ChatGPT for help.

“Something about the way that I was explaining to the students, … it wasn’t coming across to them,” she says. So she asked ChatGPT to “explain evidence in a paragraph.” In less than a minute, she was able to reintroduce the concept in a way her students understood.

ChatGPT Can Be a Teaching Tool

There is no denying that some students are using ChatGPT to cheat. Some districts have outright bans on programs. But Lepre offers a different perspective.

“AI is already here. We can’t run from it. Let’s teach them how to leverage it,” Lepre says. “We have to prepare kids for the future, and the future is AI.”

Lepre and Shields offer these five exercises below to discourage cheating and to familiarize students with the limits of AI. The exercises build editing and fact-checking skills, too!

Try This!

Talk with students about academic integrity policies, so they are clear about what is and is not allowed.
Design assignments that prevent the use of AI by requiring personal narratives and critical reasoning.
Teach students how to use ChatGPT to learn about new topics. Believe it or not, this can actually help prevent unethical use of the programs.
Ask students to evaluate information generated by ChatGPT.
Have students reverse engineer a ChatGPT essay by personalizing the text and adding missing details. They can also compare AI content with original writing.