AI for Educators

What should schools expect from the companies bringing AI into their classrooms?
Microsoft President Brad Smith joins Dan Fitzpatrick to discuss the new AI Safety and Privacy Standard agreed with the American Federation of Teachers and its New York City affiliate, the UFT.
Their conversation covers enforceable protections, school AI bans, teacher control, independent schools and whether the agreement could extend beyond the United States. Brad also addresses whether stronger safeguards could slow innovation.
Dan then examines the latest PISA findings, the evidence behind Utah’s reported critical thinking gains, AI in special education advocacy and OpenAI’s Learning Lab. The episode closes with three practical actions to help schools check both the protections around their tools and what students are actually learning.
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The two biggest school districts in America pulled students back from AI this week. In the same 72 hours, the AI labs handed teachers everything for free. Dan walks through the five stories that matter and what each one means for your school on Monday.
NYC's one-year moratorium through eighth grade and the carve-outs nobody reported. LAUSD's district-wide restriction. The Royal Society finding that only 14% of teachers are confident with AI, with principals scoring lower than the teachers they lead. IBM's survey showing 77% of parents want input while 20% understand what's happening. OpenAI's 16-state privacy agreement, and why that matters more than the free access. And the Stanford review and Tennessee trial on what AI tutoring actually does.
Plus three things to do this week: separate your staff and student policies, teach the thing before you police it, and redesign one task.
The Educators' AI Guide 2027: theeducatorsaiguide.com
Back to School AI Summit, 8-9 September: summit.aieducator.tools
You can also watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IamTheAIEducator

Our new book is out, so this episode is me walking through what's in it and why we made it.
The Educators' AI Guide 2027 runs to 30 chapters from 28 educators across the world, edited with Heather Brown. I talk through the five issues I set out in the introduction: why the chatbot era is already old news, why we have to start designing for when AI enters the learning rather than whether it does, why assessment has run out of road, what serious AI governance looks like now, and what happens when teachers start building their own software.
Along the way: Larisa Black's blunt test for any assessment, Samantha Armstrong on the difference between a shortcut and a tool, a preschool teacher in Türkiye who got 21 hours a month of documentation down to 90 minutes, Heather's chapter on AI companions, and Stuti Mehta's case for going haule haule.
Get the book at theeducatorsaiguide.com

Women gained seven grade points with Mainstay, making chatbot student performance impossible to ignore in AI college courses.
In this episode:
Women in an undergraduate Microeconomics course saw their final grades increase by seven percentage points due to course-specific chatbot messages, demonstrating how AI improved grades.
The Mainstay chatbot improved chatbot student performance by providing timely administrative nudges and support links, rather than generating academic content.
Research at Georgia State University showed that chatbot student engagement was most effective for the middle 80 percent of students, offering vital scaffolding without necessarily building transferable study habits.
Implementing AI in higher ed for course support requires significant human design, oversight, and existing infrastructure for it to be effective, as evidenced by the NBER working paper.
To successfully adopt AI college courses, educators should first audit specific student friction points and measure real outcomes and staff workload, rather than focusing solely on claims of AI improved grades.
Chapters:
00:00 — Cold open & welcome
00:30 — Women gained seven points with chatbot student performance
01:00 — Mainstay chatbot: Nudging, not generating
01:45 — The invisible administration and chatbot student engagement
02:45 — Strongest effects for the middle 80 percent
03:45 — Gender effects and the Microeconomics course
04:30 — Performance vs. capability: No transfer of skills
05:30 — Implementation details for successful AI college courses
06:15 — Research credibility and limitations of the NBER paper
07:00 — Advice for leaders: Audit the problem first
How can teachers use AI marking safely?
The study suggests AI is best used for administrative nudges like reminders and connecting students to resources, rather than for academic decision-making or grading content directly.
What specific benefits did the Mainstay chatbot provide in AI college courses?
The Mainstay chatbot improved chatbot student performance by sending personalized text messages for deadlines, missing work alerts, encouragement, and links to tutoring, leading to higher grades and engagement, particularly for women.
Did AI improved grades for all students?
While students assigned to the chatbot were generally more likely to earn an A or B, the most significant gain was observed in women in the Microeconomics course, who earned grades seven points higher; men showed no comparable effect in this study.
Featuring: Dan Fitzpatrick, NBER, Georgia State University, Mainstay, Registry of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies, National Institute for Student Success, Katharine E. Meyer, Lindsay C. Page, Catherine Mata.
Follow AI in Education with Dan Fitzpatrick for more on AI in education.

Randi Weingarten AI policy pairs an elementary ban with training 100,000 teachers as Los Angeles Unified School District cuts screens.
In this episode:
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, proposes banning student-facing AI in elementary schools to protect young children's foundational thinking skills.
The American Federation of Teachers plans to train approximately 100,000 teachers in AI this year through the National Academy for AI Instruction, prioritizing adult readiness.
The episode highlights a critical distinction: AI in elementary schools should be carefully considered, distinguishing between tools that offload cognition and those that remove barriers for students.
Developing AI skills for students means fostering critical thinking, context evaluation, and fact-checking, rather than just showing them how to type prompts.
Effective AI in education policy needs to move beyond blanket bans, focusing instead on developmentally informed, tightly controlled applications and teacher involvement from the outset.
Chapters:
00:00 — Cold open & welcome
00:15 — Randi Weingarten AI policy: Ban for young, train for adults
00:45 — The concern: AI and cognitive debt in elementary schools
01:15 — Defining 'student-facing AI' and policy nuances
01:45 — Beyond bans: AI for accessibility vs. offloading cognition
02:15 — Essential AI skills for students in secondary education
02:45 — Teacher training as a key part of AI in education policy
03:15 — Unions' role in ethical AI deployment and professional development
03:45 — Balancing protection and progress in AI policy
04:00 — Conclusion: Protected thinking vs. challenged thinking with AI
What is Randi Weingarten's stance on AI in elementary schools?
Randi Weingarten advocates for banning student-facing AI tools in elementary schools to prevent children from offloading foundational thinking skills they need to develop.
How is the American Federation of Teachers addressing AI skills for teachers?
The American Federation of Teachers, led by Randi Weingarten, aims to train approximately 100,000 teachers this year through the National Academy for AI Instruction, using a peer-led model.
What challenges does AI in education policy face regarding student use?
AI in education policy must navigate the tension between preventing cognitive offloading in young learners and leveraging AI for accessibility or developing critical AI skills for older students.
Featuring: Dan Fitzpatrick, Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers, National Press Club, Charter, ChatGPT, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Academy for AI Instruction, AFL-CIO.
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