Foundations of AI for PK-12 Educators - Pearson Skilling Suite

Empower your teaching with AI—learn how to harness AI tools for smarter, faster, and more engaging instruction.

This program will take you through how different types of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models can work to help you understand generative AI. You will learn what prompt engineering is and how you can get a generative AI model to tell you the information you need. You will also be shown instances of the ethical dilemmas that can come along with the use of AI. Then we will get into the specific use cases for PK-12 educators with the final module of the course.

*Clear objectives, real‑world relevance, and step‑by‑step modeling mapped to core classroom tasks, specifically designed for teachers PK-12

*Side‑by‑side demonstrations show how to plan lessons, assess work, and communicate using the latest tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) so you can immediately apply AI in your classroom

*The curriculum targets the skills that matter most for today’s classrooms

This course is for PK-12 instructors who want practical, classroom‑ready AI workflows that elevate teaching without adding complexity. Guided by a seasoned instructor who understands PK-12 needs, each lesson demonstrates essential educator tasks—assigning work, grading, communicating, and collaborating—so you can adopt AI with confidence. The course is structured and grounded in Faethm data to ensure relevance and impact for real classrooms. On completion of the course, you’ll have knowledge of repeatable prompts, ethical guardrails, and hybrid human‑AI workflows that save time and amplify student learning.


Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

About the instructors:

Kate Harwood is currently working with the New York Times R&D team to integrate state-of-the-art large language models into the Times’s reporting and products. Kate graduated from Columbia University with a masters in computer science: machine learning. Her primary focus is on natural language processing and ethical AI. In the past, Kate has worked on misinformation detection systems with the Columbia NLP Lab and researched techniques to mitigate bias in word embedding models. Prior to her work in NLP, Kate was a software engineer on the Image Search team at Google.

Brandon Hirsch is an actor, educator, and communication specialist with a 25-year career spanning television, film, photography, and instructional media. His work includes collaborations with J.J. Abrams, Donald Glover, Robin Williams, Roma Downey, and numerous national brands. Drawing on a bachelor’s degree in psychology and extensive experience in training, content creation, and coaching, Brandon helps teachers and learners build clarity, confidence, and creative problem-solving skills. As the founder of Elemental Actors Studio, he blends artistry, principles of neuroscience, and practical pedagogy to develop learning experiences that are engaging, ethical, and deeply human.

Duration:

Approximate duration: 6.5 hours

Audience:

PK-12 instructors and classroom teachers who want to integrate AI tools into their teaching practice effectively.

Educators looking to save time on planning, grading, and communication while maintaining creativity and student engagement.

Teachers who want hands-on demonstrations of real classroom tasks using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, guided by an expert who understands PK-12 needs.

Anyone interested in ethical, practical, and responsible AI use in education, based on Faethm data, and aligned with current teaching standards.

Recomended Prerequisites:

Basic digital literacy skills (web browsing, copy/paste, using productivity tools).

Access to ChatGPT or Google Gemini (free or paid versions).

Recommended:
Access to Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Classroom).

Ability to use anonymized student examples to maintain FERPA compliance.

Learn how to:

Integrate AI into everyday teaching tasks—from lesson planning and grading to classroom communication, using tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

Design ethical, student-centered workflows that balance AI efficiency with human creativity and care, ensuring responsible use in PK-12 classrooms.

Build practical prompts and strategies that save time, personalize learning, and make technology a true teaching partner rather than a replacement.