MacPHERSON, HILL: Alberta teachers face rise of AI without training or policy guidance
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The Alberta government recently announced it will spend $2.7 million to help bring ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning kits’ to classrooms across the province.
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The benefit could be significant, as a new Leger survey suggests Alberta teachers are navigating the entrance of AI into classrooms without adequate training or policy guidance.
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Indeed, according to the survey, 42.9% of Alberta teachers (grades 6 to 12, in all school types) say they’ve had no training ‘on how best to use AI for class lessons and other in-class materials.’ And only 37.4% say their school has a policy related to staff AI use, typically leaving this entirely up to teacher discretion.
Students already using AI
Why is this a problem?
Because many students likely use AI in their schoolwork. According to 2025 survey data from the U.S., more than 8-in-10 high schoolers use AI to assist in their homework, and a 2025 Canadian KPMG survey showed 73% of Canadian post-secondary students (aged 18 and up) use AI for schoolwork. According to the CBC’s media monitor, 72% of Canadian teenagers are aware of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and 25% of teens said they use these tools at least monthly (and that was back in 2024, light years ago in terms of AI usage).
So, it’s reasonable to assume a large share of Alberta students use AI tools. Yet according to the new Leger survey, less than half (44%) of surveyed Alberta teachers say their school has a policy on student AI use, only 33% say their ‘school or school board provided any training for them on how to instruct students on using AI reasonably,’ while 63.7% reported no training at all.
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Given how easy it is for AI to substitute human thinking, research and writing, these are shocking numbers.
No training for teachers
And one of the biggest problems with AI use in schools is knowing when students use it to do their work for them. In Alberta, 60.4% of teachers say their school or school board has provided no ‘training or tools for them as a teacher to use to help in identifying students using AI.’
There are significant concerns with AI use in education — primarily, that these tools will diminish student ability to critically think, read, write and analyze material. And anyone who’s used AI knows it can present factually incorrect or biased information.
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While AI may help empower some kids to cruise the information highway, we clearly need guardrails. These new survey results suggest Alberta teachers are ill-equipped to manage this generational shift. Policymakers should take note — or at least, have an AI companion take note for them.
Paige MacPherson is a senior fellow and Tegan Hill is director of Alberta policy at the Fraser Institute.
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