And other key issues from a report and discussion with literacy leader Francie Alexander.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
An industry leader in the fields of early childhood education, literacy, and intensive intervention for striving reading and math students, Francie Alexander provides inspirational and informative leadership on topics from early childhood to teenage learning. She works closely to listen to and learn from key school districts across the United States in order to lead HMH‘s efficacy efforts.
Francie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Text Project. She served for almost 10 years on the PBS Next Generation Media Advisory Board. She was previously Chief Academic Officer for Scholastic. She has been a frequent guest on NBC’s TODAY Show, has written columns for The New York Post, and was “The Book Nanny” for Los Angeles Family Magazine. Additionally, Francie has authored more than 50 books for children, including the STEM Curious George Readers. She currently provides monthly Book Talks in HMH’s Teachers Corner.
‘These findings indicate a significant shift towards these tools. Teachers are finding AI to be incredibly helpful and practical for their daily tasks.’
Francie is a former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress, widely known as “The Nation’s Report Card.” Prior to her time at HMH, Francie held key positions in both state and federal education agencies. One such position included serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education’s research branch, where she led department-sponsored standards efforts and campaigns in support of libraries and the arts. Francie also served as the Associate Superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the California Department of Education. She is in the California Reading Hall of Fame, and she received the annual Marcus Foster Award for contributions to Literacy for All in California.
Francie’s work is grounded in the classroom, as she has taught students from kindergarten to college. She holds a California Life Teaching Credential from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.A. degree in Education and California Administrative Credential from California Lutheran University, where she was a lecturer. In this EdTech Digest exclusive, the Senior VP Efficacy & Consulting Research at HMH discusses educator views and attitudes toward several key issues and trends.
HMH recently published its 10th Annual Educator Confidence Report, which examines several critical K-12 issues, including technology and generative AI. What were the most surprising findings from your research on these topics?
I found it fascinating that this year’s Educator Confidence Report (ECR) revealed a five-fold increase in the use of generative AI by educators compared to last year. Additionally, for the first time, we tracked the K-12 AI Confidence Index, which measures how educators feel about the impact of this emerging technology. The results were surprising, with a ‘grade’ of B+, higher than we anticipated for this inaugural year.
These findings indicate a significant shift towards these tools. Teachers are finding AI to be incredibly helpful and practical for their daily tasks. By streamlining their workflows, AI allows them to reclaim personal time and dedicate more of their workday to providing individualized support to students. We’re all excited for the potential here.
Seeing the findings reflect the growing support for AI in the classroom was enlightening. However, skepticism remains, and the technology has raised several concerns. What do you see as the biggest challenges to adoption of AI in the classroom?
Absolutely, the challenges cannot be understated. This year’s ECR found that 77% of educators see generative AI as an inevitable technology advancement, with 84% agreeing that it should be harnessed positively, with all users taught ethical use of these tools. The question is, how?
Many educators feel unprepared to integrate AI into their teaching due to insufficient training, with the ECR showing us that 76% flag the need for professional development in this area, and 35% of the educators already using it state they are concerned about the lack of guidance. Among those educators who have not yet used generative AI tools, the number of those concerned about lack of guidance increases to 53%.
We took a deeper dive into these concerns in our recent ethnography study, Empowering Education with AI: The New Teaching Assistant, which reveals that one of the major pain points teachers face when it comes to utilizing AI in their work has to do with the lack of established pathways for professional development. This is not surprising. There’s a lot of uncertainty among educators about where to find reliable information and which sources are best for classroom use. Many teachers are eagerly waiting for professional development days focused on AI, but in the meantime, they’re struggling with a lack of clear resources and best practices.
Our study found that without formal administrative support or training, teachers often turn to informal channels like word of mouth or social media to discover AI tools. They explore these tools independently, using platforms like Facebook, X, and YouTube, and rely on online tutorials to figure out how effective each tool is. It’s a bit of a DIY approach, but it shows their dedication to integrating AI into their teaching despite the challenges.
They are also concerned about perception – that it may seem like they are taking shortcuts – as well as plagiarism and other potential misuses. There is a lot to tackle here!
When discussing the need to enhance support and professional development for our educators on AI, they must understand AI is designed to make their jobs easier, enabling them to concentrate on their true passion: teaching and helping their students. What actions can we take to ensure they feel more confident using AI in their classrooms?
Comprehensive professional development programs are crucial to help educators effectively use these tools. To help educators feel more confident using AI, we (edtech companies, districts, and other trusted sources) need to provide robust training programs that focus on practical applications and ethical use. It’s essential to show teachers how AI can make their jobs easier, such as by automating administrative tasks and providing personalized feedback to students, but in ways that address their concerns head-on.
‘It’s essential to show teachers how AI can make their jobs easier, such as by automating administrative tasks and providing personalized feedback to students, but in ways that address their concerns head-on.’
Another key takeaway from our study was that a universal platform, integrated with current instructional resources, will be indispensable. Right now, they’re juggling various tools and platforms, and this fragmentation is overwhelming and hinders effective instruction and support of students. If trusted platforms and published can provide integrated AI technology –things like AI insights within their existing workflows, it would be a powerful step forward in building teacher confidence in this technology, which has the potential to become a truly personalized teaching assistant and revolutionize teaching and learning.
In your recommendations for enhancing educator confidence in using AI, you provided an example of how it can be utilized to reduce the burden of grading and enable educators to offer more timely feedback. In which areas of education would this technology be most effective?
Definitely, AI can be particularly effective in the area of enhancing timely feedback. Our study found that teachers see potential support with data analysis – things like tools to compile and analyze various student performance measures and tools that suggest adjustments to instructional techniques to address performance gaps.
AI can help customize instruction to better address diverse learning needs, streamline assessments, and improve communication with students. This allows teachers to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks, as we’ve been discussing.
In particular, generative AI can provide suggested feedback and scores on student writing, a process that is normally very time-intensive for an educator, enabling them to focus on one-on-one support. Another example is tools that analyze open-text responses for students working individually or in small groups and then provide educators with a brief but insightful summary of how the class is doing.
We’re seeing so much potential, yes, but it is key that the focus remains on the ways that generative AI can play the role of an integrated, personalized teaching assistant and that the bottom line is that technology can never replace a teacher’s expertise, but rather gives them time back to deepen their relationships with students.
While much work remains in helping educators grasp the most effective applications of AI and how it can enhance their teaching experience, where do you foresee AI usage growing in the next few years?
In the near term, I foresee AI being increasingly used to customize instruction and address diverse learning needs. As trusted guidance and, therefore, teacher confidence grows, AI tools will likely become more integrated into everyday classroom activities, helping to streamline administrative tasks and provide personalized learning experiences.
Teaching is an incredibly complex job, and teachers are starting to see this type of technology as a growing ally. That’s why I like to flip the letters AI to IA – Intelligence Accelerated – putting the teacher first.
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Victor Rivero is the Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com
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