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With the of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), teachers have been thrust into a .

The public, including many students, now has widespread access to GenAI tools and large language models (LLMs). Students sometimes use these tools with schoolwork. School boards have taken different approaches to regulating or integrating . Teachers, meanwhile, find themselves responding to these paradigm shifts while juggling student needs and wider expectations.

The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) has called on the federal government and to work with provinces and territories to enact enforceable policies that .

The federation acknowledges AI tools that leave students exposed to risks like data breaches, algorithmic bias and decline in education standards.

As researchers whose combined work focuses on professional learning and AI in education, as well as professional practice standards and innovations in education, we believe commitments are needed not just in the form of policies, but also procedures and practices which develop AI competencies for teachers. We argue these should span both initial teacher education programs and ongoing professional learning.

Many questions raised for teachers

AI raises many questions about the purpose of education, including questions around . Questions include:

• How can students successfully navigate the use of these tools safely, effectively and ?
• How can schools prepare students for the future ?
• Will impact and ?

Teachers are uniquely positioned to help guide students as they grapple with the existential and social implications of AI alongside practical concerns for their own . Teachers cannot face this alone—they need support and to feel skilled and empowered to fulfill this important role.

Empowering teachers

There's a echoed by that teachers are essential players as learners develop AI literacy.

The CTF calls for the to ensure Canadian students enjoy their right to a quality education."

As their own around , education and government agencies are partnering to support innovation and programs for the development .

Guidance created through government, research and can also be consulted.

Despite growing resources, the development of AI technology continues to outpace implementation support and essential training for teachers. This is unsustainable.

This is not merely about keeping pace with technology; it's about equipping teachers to guide the next generation in a world .

Equipping teachers

A to prepare teachers for different issues at stake with AI-enhanced classrooms is needed.

Teachers need:

1. Supported forums to address critical awareness of AI's impacts: Teacher education and professional development spaces could allow forums for teachers to address issues such as: helping students examine AI's societal impacts, including the of AI use; ; privacy concerns, , ; how AI works within social media algorithms; personalized advertising; social-emotional support chatbots. These conversations are central to AI literacy.

2. Foundational knowledge of AI: Teachers need a baseline understanding of how AI works, including its limitations, biases and design. They don't need to be computer scientists, but they do need to be aware of what tools are available to them, learn how to make informed pedagogical and ethical choices about potentially using AI and understand .

3. To be equipped with strategies to meaningfully integrate AI into teaching and learning, which requires asking to integrate AI in learning.

4. Design-based professional learning: teachers need time and space to learn from each other. AI is evolving quickly, and teachers need professional learning communities where they can share ideas, design and test new approaches, and reflect on their experiences. Effectively using . where researchers and practitioners work together, and hold promise for developing AI competencies. This could look like using AI as a professional learning tool to design activities that foster creativity or exploring using AI to support differentiated learning and promote inquiry.

By empowering teachers with in AI use, they can continue to guide students and shape students' critical and responsible engagement with this technology.

A shared responsibility

Teachers cannot do this alone. Successfully integrating AI into education requires a concerted and collaborative effort from all stakeholders within the educational ecosystem. This vital partnership includes governing bodies, school boards and school leaders and teachers and researchers, who are instrumental in leading this transformation.

Together, these partners can help and dedicate robust funding for essential tools and comprehensive training and research to foster innovative spaces where educators and researchers can experiment and study practices.

Research is needed to assess the broader effects of AI use, for example, on critical thinking and , to evaluate and understand the impacts of this technology in education. Supports are needed to ensure that AI adoption is not haphazard, but strategic and equitable across all jurisdictions.

Implementation should also consider and the existing responsibilities that teachers carry. What can be removed, and what robust supports can be provided so teachers can take this on without compromising their well-being or effectiveness?

Professional learning for educational uses of AI is already taking root through informal peer-to-peer networks and diverse formal experiences. These include academic institutions, bodies like the not-for-profit organizations or the and charitable organization among many others. These existing pathways can be leveraged and scaled with targeted support to bridge the current preparation gap.

It's time for policymakers to recognize that investing in teachers is one of the most powerful ways we can and in a better future for all of us.