It’s Monday at 8 a.m., and your first class of the week has just begun. You’re explaining concepts, trying to spark curiosity, and doing your best to keep students engaged. Yet when you pose a question, hoping to see a forest of raised hands, you are met by silence. Some students glance down, mentally composing a possible answer, while others, almost instinctively, reach for their phones, searching for it.
Today, in a world filled with TikToks, ChatGPTs, and endless digital distractions, the challenge for educators isn’t to stop students from using AI, but to design active learning experiences around AI, turning it from a potential shortcut into a powerful intellectual partner.
For most educators, this scene is far from unfamiliar. We know that our students increasingly rely on digital tools to complete assignments and study for exams. It would be easy to blame artificial intelligence for making answers available by the touch of a button; however, the real question remains. How can we, as educators, make the best use of AI in order to promote active learning?
Today, in a world filled with TikToks, ChatGPTs, and endless digital distractions, the challenge for educators isn’t to stop students from using AI, but to design active learning experiences around AI, turning it from a potential shortcut into a powerful intellectual partner.
What Is Active Learning and Why Does It Matter?
Active learning isn’t a new concept, but it is increasingly important as our access to digital tools increases. Active learning is an emphasis on the fact that students learn best when they’re actively involved in their own learning process. Gone are the days when learning was defined by lectures and note-taking; that type of learning is passive. A study conducted by Engageli (2024) shows a 62.7% participation rate in active learning sessions vs. just 5% in lecture formats demonstrating that listening alone is not enough. Students must be empowered to think, question, and create. That’s where active learning begins: when teaching shifts from being teacher-centered to student-centered, giving learners the role of active managers of their own education. In practice, active learning invites students to generate ideas, test their reasoning, and receive feedback through interaction and reflection.
Students must be empowered to think, question, and create. That’s where active learning begins: when teaching shifts from being teacher-centered to student-centered, giving learners the role of active managers of their own education.
Reconciling Active Learning and AI… Is It Really Possible?
When thoughtfully integrated, AI can enhance active learning by helping educators redesign classroom experiences that foster critical thinking, creativity, and complex problem-solving. Instead of banning a tool that’s already everywhere, educators can harness AI to enhance not only their own workflow, but the learning process itself.
Active learning focuses on students’ ability to analyze, evaluate, and create, which are precisely the skills that have become even more valuable in the age of AI. In most professions, future graduates won’t compete with AI; they’ll collaborate with it. This reality makes AI literacy a foundational skill, not a luxury.
By including AI-based tools in classroom activities, educators can help students develop the “human” skills that AI cannot replicate, such as judgment, empathy, and creativity. Active learning, powered by AI, becomes a space for students to learn how to think with technology, not through it. But how do I start using AI to promote active learning in my classroom ? We have created a list of suggestions for you below.
Active learning focuses on students’ ability to analyze, evaluate, and create, which are precisely the skills that have become even more valuable in the age of AI. In most professions, future graduates won’t compete with AI; they’ll collaborate with it. This reality makes AI literacy a foundational skill, not a luxury.
AI-based, Active Learning Activities
Integrating AI into your classroom may seem daunting at first, but it’s absolutely achievable. At TeacherLAB, we’ve curated a few classroom-tested ideas to help you begin:
Reverse Engineering
Ask students to use an AI tool (like ChatGPT. Perplexity, or Gemini) to generate an essay or solve a complex problem. Then, have them critique the response given, identifying factual errors, biases, and missing nuances compared to your course materials. This exercise builds evaluative thinking and information literacy.
Simulated Interview or Consultation
Create a scenario using a custom AI (for example, AI persona acting as a government official or company executive facing a complex dilemma). Students interview the AI persona, gather information, practice communication skills, and propose solutions, simulating real-world professional challenges.
The Process Statement
Design an AI-powered role-play that immerses students in a realistic professional scenario. For example, use a custom AI persona or prompt ChatGPT to act as a government official, startup founder, or patient facing a specific dilemma. Students must prepare questions in advance, conduct the simulated interview or consultation with the AI, and then analyze the exchange to identify key insights or propose data-driven solutions.
This exercise develops communication, critical thinking, and empathy, while showing how to interact productively with AI systems. For instance, business students might interview an “AI CEO” about market expansion, or nursing students could consult an “AI patient” to practice diagnostic reasoning.
Ready to Revolutionize Your Classroom?
At TeacherLAB, we’ve been closely following how new technologies are reshaping education. When we launched this platform during the pandemic, our mission was to help teachers worldwide adapt to remote learning using digital tools.
Now, as education continues to evolve, staying up to date is more important than ever. We invite you to explore two of our free courses designed to help you lead confidently in this new era: The Shifting Role of the Teacher in the AI Era: How to stay relevant and powerful in a world of automation and Active Learning: Designing Lessons that Improve Retention and Understanding.
Join TeacherLAB today to explore over 60 free courses that empower educators to design meaningful, future-ready learning experiences.
