Uses of AI in Education: Practical Workflows for Teachers

The most practical uses of AI in education for teachers are in preparation, not in the classroom itself. AI generates lesson outlines, practice questions, reading summaries, and first drafts of parent communications faster than writing them from scratch. Assessment, grading, and professional judgment about individual students stay with the teacher. Tools like fenbs help educators keep their reusable teaching rules and approved procedures in one place that every AI they use reads before starting a session.

The division of AI work from professional work in education is important for two reasons: student privacy law and professional responsibility. Student data is protected under FERPA, which restricts how student records may be used and shared. A teacher who enters student information into a general AI tool may violate FERPA depending on the tool and the data. Professional responsibility for student assessment, accommodation decisions, and learning outcomes cannot be delegated to an AI.

Lesson preparation and planning

Lesson planning is one of the most time-intensive parts of teaching. AI can draft a lesson plan from a learning objective, a grade level, and the time available. The teacher then reviews and adjusts: does the sequence make sense, are the examples appropriate for this class, does the assessment actually measure the objective. The AI saves the drafting time; the teacher provides the knowledge of their specific students.

Unit planning benefits similarly. Give the AI the standards to be covered, the timeframe, and the resources available. Ask it to draft a sequence of lessons. The first draft will need adjustment, but it is faster to refine an existing structure than to build one from a blank calendar. Over time, a teacher who saves their reviewed and approved unit plans can use them as the starting point for the following year.

Differentiation planning is harder and more valuable. A class where some students are working below grade level and others are ahead needs materials at multiple difficulty levels. AI can generate three versions of a practice worksheet from the same objective: a scaffolded version, a grade-level version, and an extension version. The teacher reviews all three before use and decides which goes to which students.

Practice materials and resources

Generating practice questions is well-suited to AI. Give the AI the topic, the type of questions you need, the difficulty level, and the format. It produces a set of questions that you review, edit, and approve. Checking AI-generated questions matters: AI can produce questions that are technically valid but poorly worded, or that assess something subtly different from what you intended.

Reading materials can also be generated or adapted by AI. If the assigned text is too complex for some students, AI can produce a simplified version. If students need background knowledge before reading a primary source, AI can draft an introductory paragraph. The teacher reviews the accuracy and appropriateness before handing it to students.

Feedback drafting and parent communication

Writing progress comments and parent communication letters is time-intensive for teachers who have thirty or more students. AI can draft a first version from a template and a brief description of the student's work. The teacher then personalizes it: adding specific observations, adjusting the tone for the parent, and ensuring the comment reflects their actual professional assessment. The AI produces a starting point; the teacher produces the final communication.

Do not enter student names or identifying information into AI tools. Draft using placeholders and add the student's name after. FERPA applies to student educational records, and information that identifies a student is potentially within scope. When in doubt, check your school district's AI use policy and consult with your privacy officer.

Student privacy and FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records. Schools and districts that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA. Before using any AI tool with student-related information, check whether the tool is covered by a data processing agreement between the vendor and your district. Many districts have approved lists of AI tools that may be used with student data; tools not on that list may only be used in ways that do not involve student records.

The Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office↗ (opens in a new tab) provides guidance on FERPA and technology. When designing an AI workflow, default to using no student information. Lesson materials, practice questions, and planning documents do not need to contain student data to be useful. Feedback drafts and progress comments can be drafted without names and personalized afterward.

Assessment and professional judgment

Assessing student work is the teacher's professional responsibility. AI can assist with creating rubrics and grading criteria, but the judgment of whether a specific student's work meets those criteria is the teacher's. A rubric describes the standard; the teacher applies it to the work. Accommodation decisions, grade disputes, and determinations about student progress toward an IEP goal require professional judgment that AI cannot provide.

Using AI to grade or score student submissions directly, without teacher review, is not appropriate. The teacher's professional license and the student's right to fair assessment both require that a qualified educator make the assessment judgment. AI can help organize and process information; it does not replace that judgment.

How to do this with fenbs

1. Create a free account. Create a project for each course or unit you are planning, with the standards to cover, the student grade level, and the timeline.
2. Add your school district's AI policies as Decisions and rules: which tools are approved for use with student data, what privacy steps are required before using AI for any student-related work, and which tasks are AI-free.
3. Add your approved lesson and unit plan templates as Skills and prompts: your preferred lesson structure, the practice question formats you use, and your feedback comment template.
4. Record teaching lessons after each unit: what worked, what you would change, which topics needed more time. Link the lesson to the unit project so it is available for next year's planning.
5. Connect your AI assistant from Integrations and ask it to read the project context before starting any lesson planning session. Never input student names or identifying information into the AI or into fenbs.

fenbs does not connect to student information systems, gradebooks, or learning management systems. It holds the non-sensitive planning rules and lessons that help your AI assist with preparation. Keep all student records in your district's approved systems and ensure no student information enters fenbs.