AI tools caught many schools off guard several years ago, with students suddenly able to use apps that could answer homework questions or generate essays in seconds. Teachers often spot AI-generated work through model mistakes and telltale signs like excessive em dashes. This placed additional strain on educators already working long hours, who now needed to adapt to unfamiliar technology amid unclear guidance from organizations like OpenAI and UNESCO.
Cheshire Academy, a private boarding and day school in Connecticut with about 400 students in grades 9-12, illustrates one school's approach. Librarian and technology coordinator George Aiello reports the "vast majority" of instructors use AI in some form. Rather than prescribing specific tools, the school trained staff on general techniques including prompt crafting and AI limitations like incorrect or biased outputs. Teachers now use various platforms—ChatGPT, Perplexity, and educator-focused tools like MagicSchool—for lesson planning and creating grading rubrics.
French teacher Miriam Przybyla-Baum doesn't use AI herself, having accumulated sufficient materials over nearly 30 years. However, she noticed students attempting to use AI tools like Google Translate on assignments well before ChatGPT's release. She developed assignments where students let an LLM edit their homework, then evaluate which suggestions were valid and which stripped their personal voice from the work.