AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders

by Tony Frontier

Make sure your tech initiatives put students first with this robust guide for teachers and school leaders.

With new artificial intelligence tools sweeping into districts and schools, educators must be able to assess the tools' benefits and limitations and determine if and how they might serve students. Teaching and leadership expert Tony Frontier provides the insight and knowledge necessary to use these tools effectively and responsibly.



AI with Intention presents guiding principles and action steps that address both the issues and the opportunities that come with artificial intelligence. School leaders will learn how to cultivate a schoolwide understanding of AI, implement student-centered practices that support academic integrity, and ensure that effective teaching and learning remain the school’s top priority. Teachers will learn how to efficiently and effectively use AI tools to help their students engage in the productive struggle necessary for learning.

New and evolving technologies can be exciting, but as Frontier points out, how we respond to innovation is more important than the innovation itself. This book is a roadmap for all educators looking to better understand and incorporate AI in ways that support—rather than undermine—effective teaching and learning.

Genres: Education

144 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2025

Reviews

[David Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Tony Frontier makes one thing clear in this book, it’s that new advances like AI are not going away, so pouting about the ease of cheating new technology seems to bring will do nothing. Adapting to those changes is the only way forward. To do this, teachers must be clear about what academic integrity is–it’s more specific than saying “don’t cheat” or “don’t use AI”–and how new technology can be used to support intentional learning as much as it can be used to enable nefarious ends.

Underlying all of this is a view of learning that emphasizes student choice and determination. Unfortunately, many students have been conditioned their entire educational lives to comply with the curriculum and maintain a desperate dependence on their teachers. And when this is the case, they often take the path of least resistance to get school work done. In other words, they cheat their brains out, something that was a major issue long before ChatGPT became ubiquitous.

So much of Frontier’s focus in this book is on allowing both teachers and students to use AI in productive ways, to enable them to enhance their own learning, basically to use AI tools as a personal tutor, and I think it succeeds in the former far more than the latter. I have used AI little as a teacher, and the book offers some great suggestions of what I could do. There are more obvious things it could create, like rubrics, but there is also more helpful information it could provide in the way of common misconceptions students might have regarding certain books or topics. And, of course, Frontier emphasizes how all of this must be done with fidelity, alignment of the tools with students’ needs.

I found Frontier’s advice for students far less compelling. The examples he provides for how students can use AI with integrity are so detailed and would take so many steps, I just see so many of them giving up almost immediately if this is what they would be asked to do. I know there would be a learning curve for everyone, but even with that learning curve, this sounds like a stretch.

And I’m oversimplifying here, but, throughout the book, Frontier makes it sound like it’s a simple process to turn apathetic students into intrinsic learners. (Teacher: “Here’s your explicit learning goal. Student: Wow, I’m ready to learn now!) I understand this should be the goal, but teachers need more than a basic understanding of the root causes of student disengagement to combat this problem.

[Kristin Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

AI with Intention by Dr. Tony Frontier is a thoughtful and timely guide for educators navigating the role of AI in learning. One of the biggest takeaways for me was the importance of domain expertise. We need to teach students to become the experts, not just passive consumers of information.

Frontier makes it clear that we can’t afford to take a “wait and see” approach. If we do, we’ll be waiting forever. Instead, he encourages a transformational approach that puts learning first. I really appreciated the section on academic integrity, where he pushes us to ask the hard questions… why are students cheating, and what’s the root cause? We can’t fix what we haven’t clearly defined.

He also warns against falling into the trap of chasing efficiency or automaticity without fidelity. If students aren’t holding the cognitive load, we’re not truly teaching. We have to prioritize strategy, effort, and critical thinking over compliance.

One of my favorite parts was the chapter full of critical prompts designed to help students use AI tools with purpose. It’s all about empowering them to think deeply, ask better questions, and stay in the driver’s seat of their own learning. This is a must-read for educators ready to lead with intention in the age of AI.

[Jens Hieber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very skeptical about the benefits of AI in education, but I do try to make sure I read across a variety of perspectives. I read an article by Frontier and was impressed and decided to give this a shot. It was remarkable, because he's contending with exactly the questions and concerns I've had over the last few years, not oversimplifying or explaining away, and then providing concrete steps and examples. He's writing for a broad audience and ultimately this book is almost more about creating an entire shift in educational philosophy than it is a 'how to' on what AI means for schools and individual classrooms. I found chapters 3 and 4 on Integrity and Fidelity to be the best. I think all educators should read this, no matter how they currently feel (pro, anti, skeptic, etc.) about AI in education.

[Kimberly Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super helpful for me thinking through how to approach AI with my middle schoolers and also helpful for teacher candidates in my summer course. Thoughtful approach grounded in theory and research, but also very readable and practical.

[Ryan Halstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great practical strategies in accepting AI as a learning resource. I appreciated the underlying aspects in building trust. quality relationships. and ensuring rigor and relevance must remain when teaching educators and students how to level AI in classrooms and schools.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely helpful!