Model Laboratory educator 1 of 50 nationwide helping build an AI teaching framework

RICHMOND, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — An English teacher from Model Laboratory Schools in Richmond is one of 50 educators from across the country that will come together to build a guidance for how to use AI in the classroom.

Angela Hardin teaches English, where some of the reading and writing has turned into AI and typing.

“One thing that I have noticed over the years is that students are using AI whether I like it or not,” Hardin said. “It’s kind of the way it is now.”

Students have seen AI changing in their classrooms as well.

“Normally with AI in our schools, we kind of think of it as we’re not allowed to use it,” seventh-grader Eden Trimble said. “I started to see that change actually just this year.”

“It was just like completely you’re not allowed to use it,” junior River Turner agreed. “Especially this year I’ve definitely seen more people be open to using it and helping generate ideas or helping with assignments in general.”

Rather than banning AI, teachers like Hardin at Model Laboratory Schools are teaching students how to use it.

“I show them how to use AI to generate ideas,” Hardin said. “We also talk about the difference between paraphrasing, summarizing, and making sure you don’t plagiarize.”

The students shared mixed feelings for AI, but they also gave examples on what teachers are doing to show proper uses for the technology.

“In Mrs. Hardin’s class specifically, we’re creating a podcast right now,” said freshman Delaney Brown. “With that podcast we have to cite our sources, conduct interviews, create a script, everything, so I used AI to help me generate ideas of how I should interview. I’m doing my podcast on the mental aspects of being a collegiate athlete.”

“I was not able to interview these D3 athletes in person, so helping generate ideas on interviews, we did instead like a Google form that they could fill out. That was a great idea.”

“My teachers who have been trying to teach us or trying to help us learn how to use it, they’ve been mostly teaching us ways to use it more as a tool instead of just completely relying on it, which I think is what we need to be using it for,” Turner said.

For Hardin, keeping student interest is always in the forefront of her mind.

“I think that if they can identify how to use AI, when to use AI, and AI’s meaning in their life and learn to critically think about it from a younger age, they’re going to be better learners when they get older,” she said.

With her experience teaching AI skills, Hardin was selected by the National Council of Teachers of English for the 2026 NCTE ELA AI Framework Project. This group of 50 teachers will build a guidance for how teachers and students should use AI in English classes around the country.

“What I understand about this framework is it will be something that both teachers can use and teachers can help the students use,” Hardin said.

Hardin will travel to Philadelphia this fall to work with the other educators to build the framework.

“What it does is it sits on top of the curriculum and allows teachers to have guidelines within the curriculum kind of as the standardized guidelines across the nation as to what ethical AI practices are and what AI can do with English classes and with writing and literacy,” she said.