A recent Gallup poll found that three in ten teachers use AI weekly, with findings indicating improvements in the quality of certain tasks. The study also estimated that AI-supported work could amount to the equivalent of approximately six weeks of time saved over the course of a year.

Meanwhile, a RAND study found that more than half of students and teachers report already using AI in school contexts, even as formal guidance and policy have struggled to keep pace. 

Amid concerns about plagiarism, bias, and the potential impact on students’ critical thinking skills, uncertainty is understandable. The question, then, may not be whether AI exists in education, but where it meaningfully fits within curriculum and assessment.

In some classrooms or contexts, integration may be limited in scope and highly intentional, emphasizing critical examination rather than routine or active use.

Several instructional domains offer starting points for this reflection. Rather than positioning AI as a solution or a threat, educators might consider how, and whether, it aligns with their instructional goals, assessment practices, and professional values.

1. Curriculum Planning and Lesson Design

Curriculum planning is one area where AI may intersect with teacher workflow, particularly during early stages of lesson design or brainstorming. Teachers may feel overwhelmed by the task, have too many ideas competing for attention, or be looking for ways to refresh familiar approaches. AI may help ease this “blank page” pressure by offering general overviews or serving as a brainstorming partner.

AI may also support more specific elements of lesson and unit planning, such as identifying alignment between…