How Oakland teachers are using - or avoiding - AI in the classroom

""It became kind of inconvenient," Kaufusi said. "As I learned more about AI, I learned it wouldn't give you correct information and we'd have to fact check it." Like many students, Kaufusi used generative AI platforms - where users can input a prompt and receive answers in various formats, be it an email text, an essay, or the answers to a test - to get his work done quickly and without much effort. Now a junior, Kaufusi said he's dialed down his AI use."

"Some teachers told The Oaklandside they are choosing to embrace AI by incorporating it into student projects or using it to assist with their own lesson planning, while others have said they've rejected it for its environmental impacts and how it enables students to cut corners. Some teachers are returning to old forms of assessment, such as essays handwritten during class that can't be outsmarted by the platforms."

"What's clear to many is that AI platforms are already ubiquitous on the internet and many students are going to use them whether their teachers advise them to or not. Kaufusi, who is in McClymonds' engineering pathway, is interested in studying machine learning or software engineering, so he wants to see more of his teachers discuss responsible uses for AI. "They know there's no way to stop us" from using it, he said, "so they can try to teach us how to use it properly.""

Students in Oakland schools increasingly use generative AI for assignments, but tools often produce incorrect information requiring fact-checking. Teachers respond inconsistently: some integrate AI into projects and lesson planning, others ban it citing environmental harm and academic shortcuts, and some return to handwritten in-class assessments. AI platforms are ubiquitous online, making student use likely regardless of teacher guidance. Some students pursuing tech fields want instruction on responsible AI use rather than outright bans. District-level policy is currently lacking, leaving schools and teachers to define classroom approaches individually. Educators balance pedagogical benefits against concerns about cheating, accuracy, and environmental impacts.

Read at The Oaklandside