New research finds schools of education fail to prepare teachers to use AI
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Not one superintendent we spoke with considered higher education a resource for artificial intelligence-related professional learning.
This article was originally published by The 74.
The rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence is exposing a glaring disconnect in teacher preparation. While forward-thinking superintendents are rolling up their sleeves to build AI literacy among teachers, college programs tasked with preparing the next generation of educators are largely absent from the conversation. This isn’t just a missed opportunity; it is an existential crisis for teacher prep programs.
From hundreds of surveys and in dozens of interviews of school leaders conducted over the last year, researchers from the Centers on Reinventing Public Education have heard a consistent message: Teachers urgently need help shifting their mindset on AI, moving from reflexive fear and resistance to curiosity and hands-on engagement with the technology. Many still see AI primarily as a tool for cheating rather than as a transformative force in education. However, AI is not going away, and teachers must understand both its potential and its risks. Thoughtful educators are already wrestling with questions of plagiarism, bias and privacy, but they are also finding AI invaluable for reducing paperwork, tailoring instruction for different student skill levels and creating accessible documents for English learners and their families.
Beyond the classroom, teachers must also prepare students for a future workforce shaped by AI, helping them navigate a world of hallucinating chatbots and algorithm-driven decision-making. AI literacy is quickly becoming as fundamental as reading and math, yet higher education is nowhere near ready to meet this challenge.
CRPE’s latest research paints a sobering picture: Few education schools are making serious moves to incorporate AI training into teacher preparation. Faculty resistance, the inability to change longstanding institutional policies and lack of expertise about teaching with generative AI y are major barriers. Where AI is mentioned, it is usually in the context of student plagiarism rather than as a tool that could reshape teaching and learning. The result is that future K-12 teachers are entering classrooms unprepared for the AI-driven realities they will inevitably face.
Perhaps the most telling sign that colleges of education are becoming irrelevant to the work of preparing teachers for AI is the silence from district leaders. When we asked 15 district administrators about higher education’s role in AI training, none of them even thought to mention teacher prep programs. Some districts maintain longstanding partnerships with education schools, but not one superintendent we spoke with considered higher education a resource for AI-related professional learning. That is a damning indictment. If teacher prep programs want to remain relevant, they need to start listening to what schools actually need.
Superintendents are not waiting for support or direction from higher ed institutions to tackle AI. Many are taking a hands-on approach, leading AI workshops themselves, offering opt-in training for teachers and prioritizing practical, immediate applications over abstract concerns. This is the kind of leadership teacher prep programs should be providing, yet we are seeing the opposite: inertia, skepticism and a frustratingly slow pace of change.
Education schools could start by mirroring what innovative districts (and a few colleges of education) are already doing:
- Meet faculty where they are. Districts do not force AI training. Instead, they hold optional information sessions and give teachers multiple opportunities to learn about and experiment with AI tools designed to, for example, assist in completing administrative tasks or generating individualized assignments for students. Education schools should do the same, starting with faculty workshops on using AI for research, grading and lesson planning before moving into pedagogy.
- Build AI leadership teams. Just as some districts are identifying “AI champions” among teachers, education schools should form internal task forces to experiment with tools, train colleagues and develop curricula.
- Forge real partnerships with K-12. Teacher prep programs should work directly with districts to co-develop AI coursework that aligns with what schools actually need rather than making assumptions from the ivory tower.
Higher education has a choice: adapt or risk irrelevance. If colleges and universities cannot step up to equip future teachers with the skills, tools and mindsets needed for an AI-infused education landscape, districts will find other ways to fill the gap. Once that happens, teacher prep programs may find themselves permanently sidelined.
State legislators should consider policy action, including assessing and updating accreditation requirements for education schools. During a focus group with ed school faculty gathered to discuss preparing teachers for AI in the classroom, one dean told us, “Ultimately, we do what the state tells us.” States also might consider bolder action, such as allowing leading districts to offer AI courses to ed school students and other aspiring teachers as a potential income stream.
Philanthropy, nonprofits and alternative teacher preparation programs should take note as well. They have an opportunity, and arguably a responsibility, to step in where higher education is falling short. Google’s professional certification programs might be extended to teachers in training, for example.
Generative AI is the canary in the coal mine for teacher preparation. It is revealing, in real-time, the ways in which higher education’s slow-moving shifts in programs and policies are failing to keep up with the world their graduates will enter. The colleges that recognize this moment for what it is — a chance to lead, innovate and evolve — will shape the future of teaching. Those that do not may soon find themselves obsolete.