AI for Planning & Prep

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Why it works

Teacher workload and burnout are major drivers of attrition, and much of the work is repetitive drafting: differentiated versions, rubrics, parent messages, question sets. Generative AI is well suited to fast first drafts of exactly this text, which the teacher reviews and adapts, reclaiming time for the work only a teacher can do.

The research: Research on teacher workload and retention; ISTE guidance on AI for educators.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: draft one real prep task with AI

Teachers leave having used AI to draft a real prep task and having reviewed and adapted it.

Pick a repetitive prep task: a rubric, differentiated versions, a question set, a parent message.
Write a specific prompt with the grade, standard, and format.
Review and adapt the draft, correcting anything off.
Note what you would never hand to AI: student data, final judgment.

First draft, not final wordAI gives you a fast starting point, not a finished product. The time saved is real only if you still apply your judgment to what it produces.

Facilitator notes

Start with low-stakes prep, not student-facing decisions.
Teach specific prompting.
Always review output, and protect student privacy.

Never paste student personal data into AI toolsUnless a tool is specifically approved and compliant, keep student names and records out of it. Use general examples instead.

Adapt it

Elementary: differentiated texts, newsletters, center ideas.
Secondary: question banks, rubrics, feedback starters.
All settings: always review, never trust blind.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

AI for Planning & Prep: draft it, review it

A reviewed first-draft assistant: specific prompts, careful review, student data kept out.

The prep task:
My specific prompt (grade, standard, format):
What I corrected in the draft:
What I will never hand to AI:
The time I expect to save:

Make it stick

Drafts, not decisions:

Use AI for drafts; keep judgment yours.
Protect student data.
Bring a prep task AI sped up to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't using AI to plan lazy or cheating?

No more than using a textbook or a colleague's materials. The judgment, the standards, and the final decisions stay yours. AI drafts; you decide.

What should I not hand to AI?

Anything with student personal data, anything you cannot check, and your final professional judgment. Use it for drafts and ideas, not decisions about individual students.

How do I get good output?

Be specific: give it the grade, the standard, the length, and the format, and ask it to revise. Vague prompts give vague drafts.