AI adoption continues to expand across K-12 classrooms.
Today, 6 in 10 K-12 public school teachers report using AI tools in their work, and many are realizing significant time savings.
But some say the problem is that time savings don’t automatically translate to classroom improvements.
Data reveals that most teachers still primarily use AI for administrative and productivity tasks such as lesson planning, worksheets, and grading, rather than instructional support and student engagement.
Megan Freeman, a veteran educator and co-CEO of Illuminate XR, is researching how AI-enabled immersive learning environments can help teachers better understand how students think, engage, and respond, and visualize learning behaviors that are often overlooked by traditional tools.
Mr. Freeman has been working on the question of why current AI adoption is inadequate and what it takes to use AI in ways that actually improve both student engagement and teacher well-being.
Others, like Freeman, argue that while saving teachers’ time is valuable, if AI doesn’t help adapt instruction, differentiate support, or keep students focused, it won’t address the classroom pressures that cause burnout and the learning gaps students experience.
At the same time, student engagement has become one of the biggest challenges in post-pandemic classrooms, with many educators struggling to keep students focused, motivated, and engaged in learning.
Only 47% of U.S. K-12 students feel engaged in school, according to Gallup Student Poll
If AI is to meaningfully impact both student outcomes and teacher well-being, the focus must shift from productivity to pedagogy, using AI to enable teachers to respond to students in real-time, understand how students are learning, and adjust instruction accordingly.
