SPECIMEN #2025-G: Friction as Pedagogy: AI Debates in Educator Networks

• In Event: Digital Ecologies of Hope: A Natural History of Emerging Media Futures

Abstract

This research analyzes how educators navigate artificial intelligence adoption through peer discussion on Reddit's r/Teachers forum. Through examination of threads debating AI-assisted teaching ethics, this study reveals teacher communities as sites of collective professional development. Initial posts sharing classroom successes with AI-generated materials spark complex discussions about creativity, labor, and intellectual property, demonstrating educators' sophisticated engagement with technological change. Rather than polarizing, teachers approach questions with nuance, suggesting innovative curricular approaches like student-led AI ethics debates. Discussion threads become spaces for collective wisdom-building that bridges pragmatic classroom needs with ethical considerations. This research contributes to understanding informal professional learning during technological transitions, revealing how peer networks enable thoughtful tool integration while maintaining educational values. The work challenges deficit narratives about teacher technology adoption, documenting sophisticated community-based approaches to educational innovation.

Author

• Rhea Jaffer, Teachers College, Columbia University