Wharton students help teachers turn AI tools into classroom resources

Students from the Wharton AI for Society Research Lab worked with educators at West Deptford High School in New Jersey to explore how generative AI can support teaching. The interdisciplinary University of Pennsylvania program develops and tests resources for educators, with an initial focus on professional development for high school teachers.

The workshop introduced Gemini, Gems, and NotebookLM alongside guidance on bias, hallucinations, verification, and student privacy. Teachers used their own classroom materials during demonstrations and hands-on exercises. By the end, participants had built working quizzes they could use in class. Mathematics teacher Jaclyn Falcone said the experience broadened her view of AI beyond searching for information to adapting existing teaching materials.

Teacher feedback also shaped the workshop’s design. Early research uncovered concerns and obstacles the student team had not anticipated, prompting more time for educators to experiment with familiar materials. The lab uses that feedback to revise prototypes, including learning modules and lesson-planning assistants.

Researchers and educators emphasized that AI should support human judgment rather than replace it. Potential uses include drafting communications, creating rubrics, and adapting lessons, but teachers must recognize inaccurate outputs. For students, tools that provide guidance may be more useful than those that supply answers and remove the thinking an assignment is intended to develop.