Artificial Intelligence Beyond the Buzz 

Technology is no longer new to the classroom. It’s everywhere. But what makes edtech effective?

In a recent conversation on the Teaching Learning Leading podcast, Sandra Jin discusses bridging the gap between the widespread optimism surrounding AI and its practical, impactful application in education. As a director of innovation at Leading Educators, Sandra uses frameworks like the Value Add of Technology on Teaching (VATT) to help educators set clearer goals for the impact of technology and develop aligned practices.

Sandra offers a grounded perspective in a landscape often dominated by hype and uncertainty, emphasizing the need for strategic integration rooted in pedagogical principles and collaborative efforts. Sandra shares:

There’s a real fear that students might lose something if technology isn’t used thoughtfully, whether it’s deep critical thinking or being able to grapple with really complex ideas, or even just have authentic human connections with their peers and teachers.”

We recap major points from the conversation. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Validate Concerns around AI to Foster Openness

The arrival of AI in education has understandably generated anxiety among educators, a sentiment Sandra Jin validates from the outset: “I think that those negative responses are understandable.” She identifies key roots of this apprehension: “One is uncertainty, and the second is around the speed of change.”

Indeed, AI’s rapid evolution and opaque nature don’t help, and finding the time to learn which tool to adapt and which to abandon is an overwhelming place to be.

Finally, Sandra points to a significant historical factor: the “feeling we’ve been here before.” Recalling the “over-promising and under-delivering of EdTech, whether smart boards or one-to-one devices, falling short of meaningful change,” she underscores how past disappointments fuel current caution towards AI. Acknowledging this history is crucial for system leaders to understand the deeply rooted nature of these anxieties.

💬 Reflect: How can you explicitly acknowledge these experiences to build trust and openness towards exploring AI’s potential?

Focus on Efficacy Over Just the “Shiny Object”

Sandra Jin cuts to the core: AI’s allure as a “shiny object” is irrelevant without efficacy—demonstrable improvement in teaching and learning. “‘Efficacy, at its most basic, means that a tool or program can do what it’s intended to do. And so if we can’t show efficacy, what is the point? Right? It’s just a shiny thing and worthy of the negative responses some teachers are feeling,” she asserts.

Sandra stresses that prioritizing efficacy demands more than just adopting new tools. It requires a fundamental “‘shift in not just the technology, but all of the practices around it.'”

She warns that focusing solely on AI itself causes us to “miss all the other things that need to shift as a result.” She points to a recent Bellwether report that identified a significant resource gap in efficacy for many K12 learning systems nationwide. This report underscores the critical need to consider AI’s ethical and practical aspects and rigorously evaluate its impact on learning.

Sandra offers compelling examples from the School Teams AI Collaborative, where educators nationwide collaborate to test, refine, and identify AI-enabled practices.

• At Valley New School, where the school’s instructional goal focused on communication skills, students role-played interviews with a ChatGPT expert to analyze and refine their interview techniques before real-world interactions.
• This approach allowed them to determine whether this practice effectively builds confidence and preparedness.

She emphasizes starting with clear instructional priorities before even touching a specific AI tool,  allowing schools to figure out the metrics of whether or not this practice has efficacy. She describes this process as small testing cycles: “ You try it, reflect, quickly refine, then do it again.”

Sandra concludes:

 We have this opportunity here to be different from the trends that have come before and think about this more holistically.”

💬 Reflect: What specific instructional priorities in your learning system could be a starting point for testing and measuring the efficacy of AI-enabled practices in your schools?

Leverage AI to Reimagine the Teacher’s Role

Teachers are the most resourceful and practical and scrappy people in the world, and they’ll use what works, and they’ll use it immediately and intuitively, out of necessity and out of curiosity.”

Sandra Jin highlights that while teachers are quick to adopt new tools, meaningful AI integration demands strategic PD that redefines the teacher’s role. Without structured support, understanding AI’s broader implications and capabilities remains limited. Intentional PD provides crucial time for reflection and expertise development.

Furthermore, effective AI integration requires reimagining the teacher’s role, fostering collaboration across traditional silos. Strategic PD should empower teachers to evolve their practice, leveraging AI to enhance pedagogy and student learning in informed and effective ways.

💬 Reflect: How does your system’s PD empower teachers to reimagine their roles and strategically leverage AI to enhance pedagogy and student learning?

Transform Instruction Through Collaboration

But what will it take to transform education into a more collaborative model? Sandra knows it starts with “building bridges across different silos that have traditionally existed in education because the technology is shifting so quickly.” 

Dismantling these silos requires a collective effort. Sandra reminds us:

Teachers cannot do this on their own. Ed tech companies can’t do it on their own. Research institutions can’t do it on their own. Nonprofit providers like us can’t do it on our own. Curriculum providers can’t do it on their own. We must find new ways to work together to support our teachers and students.”

By fostering these connections, educational systems can tap into a wealth of knowledge, resources, and perspectives, ensuring that AI integration ultimately serves the best interests of students. 

💬 Reflect: What existing collaborative structures within your educational ecosystem can serve as a foundation for AI integration? What steps can you take to build new bridges and foster deeper engagement with researchers, technologists, and other community experts?

Use AI to Enhance Learning, Not Supplant It

The fundamental question surrounding AI in education isn’t about its capabilities, but its purpose. Sandra Jin offers a clear vision:

AI should never replace critical thinking or creativity or curiosity, which is inherent in the learning process; it should enhance it. It should create more opportunities for students to make meaningful choices and develop the skills they need beyond the classroom.”

In other words, the most impactful use for AI is to amplify the most essential human skills: deeper critical thinking, spark greater creativity, and foster genuine curiosity. Furthermore, AI should empower students by providing more agency in their learning journeys, allowing for personalized pathways and the development of future-ready skills that extend far beyond the classroom walls. 

P.S. As you rethink the boundaries of the traditional classroom and lean on technology in brand new ways, the VATT Framework can help you focus, better connect technology to instructional goals, and ignite new potential. Get started today.

💬 Reflect: How can you support educators in your learning system to leverage AI to ignite opportunity for students every day?

More About Sandra Jin

Sandra works alongside educators, system leaders, learning scientists, and tech developers to explore, design, and scale effective, human-centered AI-enabled practices that enhance teaching and learning. She champions the crucial need to ground these technological advancements in the realities of the classroom and the goals of learning, not technology as an end in and of itself. 

Sandra is also an EdSafe Alliance Women in AI Fellow. This year-long program supports exceptional individuals to delve into critical questions surrounding AI in education. As a fellow, she learns from and works alongside world-renowned experts in AI safety, ethics, and policy.