One of the best parts of doing research on education is talking with students. Not only do we learn a great deal about what is happenign in schools, it's often inspiring. Betsy Burris agrees. She is a retired teacher educator and a psychotherapist who hosts Teaching Through Emotions, a podcast that focuses on relationships within the learning core.
Betsy interviewed Jesse Dukes about the Homework Machine, our seven part series on AI and K12 education, with a particular focus on how students were navigating the often mixed messages they receive about generative AI.

<description>&lt;p&gt;One of the best parts of doing research on education is talking with students. Not only do we learn a great deal about what is happenign in schools, it's often inspiring. Betsy Burris agrees. She is a retired teacher educator and a psychotherapist who hosts Teaching Through Emotions, a podcast that focuses on relationships within the learning core.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Betsy interviewed Jesse Dukes about the Homework Machine, our seven part series on AI and K12 education, with a particular focus on how students were navigating the often mixed messages they receive about generative AI.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Teaching Through Emotions interviews Jesse Dukes about The Homework Machine. 

Jesse Dukes on Teaching Through Emotions

Teachers are aware that AI is present in schools and learning environments, whether we like it or not. And many feel pressure, internally and externally, to learn and teach some form of "AI literacy". Justin has cautioned that it's too early for us to really understand what AI literacy is, and that just guessing at what might constitute AI literacy might do harm.Teachers and schooleaders appreciate that warning, but many feel that we can't do nothing. It's essential for teachers to start getting some knowledge about how AI works, to start experimenting with AI powered practices, and think about implementing them into our instruction.In our research, the most eloquent proponent that teachers should gain, and perhaps teach, some kind of AI literacy is Maureen Russo Rodriguez. Maureen is a Spanish and English teacher at St. Mark’s School in Massachussets. She is a cofounder (with Nate Green) of a network of educators called CoLab, which started in 2024 and now includes over nine hundred educators from over three hundred schools. We talk with her about her path to leading a process by which teachers design their own AI literacy professional development process, and Justin and Maureen try to pin down where they are in agreement, and disagreement.This episode was produced by Jesse Dukes. You can learn more about Co-lab at <a href="https://www.educolab.org/">https://www.educolab.org/</a>.We got support for our interview with Maureen from RAISE at MIT: Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education. Thanks to Eric Klopfer and Cynthia Brezeal. RAISE also sponsors a series of professional development opportunities around AI for teachers, in a similar spirit to Co-Lab called Day of AI. We had editorial help this week from Steven Jackson, Alexandra Salomon, Adam Brock, Sara Falls, and Steve Oulette.Teach Lab is a production of the Teaching Systems lab at MIT Justin Reich Director

<description>&lt;p&gt;Teachers are aware that AI is present in schools and learning environments, whether we like it or not. And many feel pressure, internally and externally, to learn and teach some form of "AI literacy". Justin has cautioned that it's too early for us to really understand what AI literacy is, and that just guessing at what might constitute AI literacy might do harm.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Teachers and schooleaders appreciate that warning, but many feel that we can't do nothing. It's essential for teachers to start getting some knowledge about how AI works, to start experimenting with AI powered practices, and think about implementing them into our instruction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In our research, the most eloquent proponent that teachers should gain, and perhaps teach, some kind of AI literacy is Maureen Russo Rodriguez. Maureen is a Spanish and English teacher at St. Mark’s School in Massachussets. She is a cofounder (with Nate Green) of a network of educators called CoLab, which started in 2024 and now includes over nine hundred educators from over three hundred schools. We talk with her about her path to leading a process by which teachers design their own AI literacy professional development process, and Justin and Maureen try to pin down where they are in agreement, and disagreement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This episode was produced by Jesse Dukes. You can learn more about Co-lab at &lt;a href="https://www.educolab.org/"&gt;https://www.educolab.org/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We got support for our interview with Maureen from RAISE at MIT: Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education. Thanks to Eric Klopfer and Cynthia Brezeal. RAISE also sponsors a series of professional development opportunities around AI for teachers, in a similar spirit to Co-Lab called Day of AI. We had editorial help this week from Steven Jackson, Alexandra Salomon, Adam Brock, Sara Falls, and Steve Oulette.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Teach Lab is a production of the Teaching Systems lab at MIT Justin Reich Director&lt;/p&gt;
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Teachers face a dilemma. They know we may not know the best way to teach students about how to prepare for AI, but many feel we have to do something. 

AI Literacy Part II "What We Talk About When We Talk About AI Literacy"

Over the last two years, teachers and schools have felt immense pressure to incorporate AI literacy into their curricula. In the fall of 2024, California became the first state to pass a law mandating AI literacy instruction in schools, and several others have since followed suit. In the summer of 2025, the Department of Education released the "AI Action Plan for Education," which stated in part: "The Action Plan encourages schools to teach AI literacy and supports the responsible integration of AI in classrooms. AI is seen as a key education tool to enhance individual student preparation for the real world and to bolster the United States as a leader in AI."Most major AI companies have pledged significant capital to train teachers or educate students in AI literacy. Google alone has committed over 40 million dollars toward these initiatives, while OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA have all launched similar donation programs. But do we actually know what "AI literacy" means? Sam Wineburg doesn't think so. Sam is a professor emeritus of education and history at Stanford and the co-founder of the Digital Inquiry Group. He previously led a landmark study for the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) that exposed how standard school methods for teaching web literacy were failing K-12 students.In part one of this two-part miniseries, Wineburg shares his observations on how educators have gotten "literacy" wrong in the past. He suggests there are more responsible ways to adapt to transformative new technologies than to hastily stand up literacy guidelines that may repeat old mistakes.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Over the last two years, teachers and schools have felt immense pressure to incorporate AI literacy into their curricula. In the fall of 2024, California became the first state to pass a law mandating AI literacy instruction in schools, and several others have since followed suit. In the summer of 2025, the Department of Education released the "AI Action Plan for Education," which stated in part: "The Action Plan encourages schools to teach AI literacy and supports the responsible integration of AI in classrooms. AI is seen as a key education tool to enhance individual student preparation for the real world and to bolster the United States as a leader in AI."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Most major AI companies have pledged significant capital to train teachers or educate students in AI literacy. Google alone has committed over 40 million dollars toward these initiatives, while OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA have all launched similar donation programs.&lt;br /&gt;But do we actually know what "AI literacy" means? Sam Wineburg doesn't think so. Sam is a professor emeritus of education and history at Stanford and the co-founder of the Digital Inquiry Group. He previously led a landmark study for the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) that exposed how standard school methods for teaching web literacy were failing K-12 students.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In part one of this two-part miniseries, Wineburg shares his observations on how educators have gotten "literacy" wrong in the past. He suggests there are more responsible ways to adapt to transformative new technologies than to hastily stand up literacy guidelines that may repeat old mistakes.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Schools and teachers are being directed to teach and learn "AI Literacy" but do we know enough to do that responsibly? 

AI Literacy Part 1 "Where Angels Fear to Tread" with Sam Wineburg

We’re pleased to share powerful reporting from our friends at the show Click Here, from Recorded Future News and PRX. They tell true stories about the people making and breaking our digital world. Over the past year, they’ve been documenting the digital – and cultural – erasure of Uyghurs in China. As part of that series, they follow one man who set out to preserve his culture the old fashioned way: by opening kindergartens that celebrated the Uyghur language. And then, almost overnight, those doors were locked. And the school’s founder went from teacher… to enemy of the nation. Sean Powers reported the story and Dina Temple-Raston Dina, the host of the Click Here, brings it to us.It’s not too late to take our listener survey about the Homework Machine series. We will enter you in a drawing to receive one of two $25 gift cards.

<description>&lt;p&gt;We’re pleased to share powerful reporting from our friends at the show Click Here, from Recorded Future News and PRX. They tell true stories about the people making and breaking our digital world. Over the past year, they’ve been documenting the digital – and cultural – erasure of Uyghurs in China. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As part of that series, they follow one man who set out to preserve his culture the old fashioned way: by opening kindergartens that celebrated the Uyghur language. And then, almost overnight, those doors were locked. And the school’s founder went from teacher… to enemy of the nation. Sean Powers reported the story and Dina Temple-Raston Dina, the host of the Click Here, brings it to us.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It’s not too late to take our listener survey about the Homework Machine series. We will enter you in a drawing to receive one of two $25 gift cards. &lt;/p&gt;
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In a small classroom in western China, children once learned to sing and count in the language of their ancestors — Uyghur. Then the doors were locked, and founder Abduweli Ayup went from teacher to enemy of the state. 

Click Here: Silencing a Kindergarten

The timing of the arrival of AI has been bad for many schools and teachers. In the Fall of 2022, schools were just emerging from the extraordinary challenges brought by the pandemic. Teacher morale and turnover are at historic lows. Some school districts are on a good footing, and have the resources and stability to adapt, and even experiment with using AI to support learning, but many teachers tell us generative AI has just been one more thing they have to deal with, often without the support they would like. At a moment when unprecedented sums are being invested in AI development — including many billions devoted to AI powered education technology — teachers wonder if our priorities are in the right place. This episode was produced by Steven Jackson and Jesse Dukes. We had editing from Ruxandra Guidi and Alexandra Salomon. Reporting and research from Holly McDede and Andrew Meriwether. Reporting and research for the series from Chris Bagg, Andrew Parsons, Natasha Esteves, and Marnette Federis. Sound design and music supervision by Steven Jackson.Production help from Yebu Ji. Data analysis from Manee Ngozi Nnamani and Manasa Kudumu. Administrative support from Jessica Rondon. Special thanks to Josh Sheldon and Eric Klopfer.Original music for this series was created by Steven Jackson, Andrew Meriwether and Jesse Dukes, as part of the music project Cue Shop. Thanks to Will Grueb, Andy Wilds, and the MIT Music Department for letting us use the MIT Harpsichord.The research and reporting you heard in this episode was supported by the Spencer Foundation, the Kapor Foundation, the Jameel World Education Lab, the Social and Ethical Responsibility of Computing initiative at MIT, and the RAISE initiative, Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education also at MIT. We had support from Google’s Academic Research Awards program. Please take our Listener Survey for a chance to win a $25 gift card.

<description>&lt;p&gt;The timing of the arrival of AI has been bad for many schools and teachers. In the Fall of 2022, schools were just emerging from the extraordinary challenges brought by the pandemic. Teacher morale and turnover are at historic lows. Some school districts are on a good footing, and have the resources and stability to adapt, and even experiment with using AI to support learning, but many teachers tell us generative AI has just been one more thing they have to deal with, often without the support they would like. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At a moment when unprecedented sums are being invested in AI development — including many billions devoted to AI powered education technology — teachers wonder if our priorities are in the right place. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This episode was produced by Steven Jackson and Jesse Dukes. We had editing from Ruxandra Guidi and Alexandra Salomon. Reporting and research from Holly McDede and Andrew Meriwether. Reporting and research for the series from Chris Bagg, Andrew Parsons, Natasha Esteves, and Marnette Federis. Sound design and music supervision by Steven Jackson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Production help from Yebu Ji. Data analysis from Manee Ngozi Nnamani and Manasa Kudumu. Administrative support from Jessica Rondon. Special thanks to Josh Sheldon and Eric Klopfer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original music for this series was created by Steven Jackson, Andrew Meriwether and Jesse Dukes, as part of the music project Cue Shop. Thanks to Will Grueb, Andy Wilds, and the MIT Music Department for letting us use the MIT Harpsichord.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The research and reporting you heard in this episode was supported by the Spencer Foundation, the Kapor Foundation, the Jameel World Education Lab, the Social and Ethical Responsibility of Computing initiative at MIT, and the RAISE initiative, Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education also at MIT. We had support from Google’s Academic Research Awards program.&lt;br /&gt;Please take our Listener Survey for a chance to win a $25 gift card. &lt;/p&gt;
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Generative AI has added more strain to an already frayed education system. 

The Homework Machine Ep 7: Break the Teacher

TeachLab is a podcast that investigates the art and craft of teaching. There are 3.5 million K-12 teachers in America, and we want to explore how they can become even better at what they do. Hosted by Justin Reich, MIT Professor and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab.

TeachLab with Justin Reich

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