End-of-Year Reflections on Using AI in the Classroom: Insights and Innovations from CIDDL Office Hours
Authors: Yerin Seung; info@ciddl.org
As the academic year wraps up, educators across the country are pausing to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping teaching and learning. At the Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL), our recent Office Hours on May 13th offered a space for teachers and teacher educators to share their experiences integrating AI into instruction. What emerged was a thoughtful, energizing conversation about authentic learning, AI collaboration, and preparing teachers for the future of education.
End-of-Year Reflection of AI Integration in Education
One of the highlights from this year’s discussion was a midterm assignment in an undergraduate introduction to special education course. Rather than banning AI use, the instructors designed the assignment to require thoughtful interaction with AI tools. Students were given a case study featuring a student with disabilities and asked to draw on course concepts such as IDEA, UDL, HLPs, and MTSS to develop a support plan. Crucially, they had to collaborate with an AI tool to generate solutions and justify their prompt choices using what they had learned about prompt engineering and student context. This design reframed AI as a collaborative learning tool, not a shortcut. By requiring students to explain, reflect on, and even record their AI interactions, the assignment promoted accountability and deeper learning.
Instructors also shared how building customized GPTs, trained on course syllabi and learning objectives, helped generate case studies and instructional supports aligned with their goals. While AI saved time, it was most effective when embedded into well-scaffolded tasks that required student reflection and judgment.
Others reflected on in-class examples, such as students using AI (despite access restrictions) to generate compare-and-contrast essays. Rather than discipline the student, the teacher used it as a teachable moment to explore inferential thinking, illustrating how AI can provoke higher-order questioning when approached creatively.
Implications for the Future
Despite growing excitement, many educators remain unsure how to meaningfully use AI. One takeaway from the session was the importance of bridging this gap with guided, scaffolded opportunities for educators to explore AI through authentic, reflective tasks. As we look ahead to a new academic year, it’s time to shift the conversation from “Should we use AI?” to “How can we design learning experiences where students and teachers use AI responsibly, reflectively, and creatively?” The answers are evolving as we’re building them together.
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