Sarah Kennedy-Berge M.Ed. 

College Director at WATERPARK MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL 

January, 2025 

Join me for a moment for this discussion, would you? I would first like to address the title – is AI our friend or enemy? Or perhaps it’s neither? What if we could remove the emotional element that is so instinctual for all of us and rather see it as any other tool? Or is it like any other tool we have seen before? 

At this point, I think we need to acknowledge that AI is here to stay, and whether we like it in its current form is not the issue. We live with it, all day long. “Hey Siri,” we say when wondering about something or needing to set a reminder. Artificial intelligence has been a part of our world for a while. It’s just that now, in its more obvious forms of ChatGPT and DeepSeek, for example, we’re threatened by the unknown and exponential growth of this powerful tool that we don’t quite understand. We don’t understand the implications of use nor its potential as a tool. 

The key is intentionality. 

AI and other digital media are tools. But they are powerful tools, and if we do not understand how they work and what they are designed to do, those tools will start to take over and use us, instead. We become monetized tools of technology. 

AI as we know it is already being used in classrooms around the world. I assume (and yes, I know what that implies…) that most of us in the Montessori world are moving past the immediate impulse to exclude it from the classroom and are joining the meaningful discussions and debates about how it might fit into our environments. As Montessori educators, we value hands-on, experiential learning, but we also recognize the need to prepare children for a rapidly changing world. So, how can we use AI in a way that aligns with Montessori principles?  

Perhaps the first question should be – does it? Can we use AI in the Montessori environment in a way that aligns with Montessori principles? I will propose a few examples, but I welcome your thoughts, both to argue against what I offer here and also to suggest other principles I have not addressed here. 

The first is a focus on the independent learner. Just as we are guides for our students (and not all-knowing fonts of information), students can also use AI to support their self-directed learning. There are AI tools that can provide real-time insights on student progress, and other tools that offer translation or accessibility features for diverse learners. LLMs can also provide a space for students to organize their thoughts or brainstorm ideas. All these suggestions should be accompanied by the “of course, they don’t replace human interaction” proviso. 

Another aspect of our Montessori approach falls within the Practical Life, and more specifically, Grace and Courtesy, category. Let’s first consider AI as a tool. What would we do with any other tool when bringing it into our classroom? Hopefully, we would put on the Scientist hat (part of our Servant, Scientist, and Saint wardrobe) and analyze it with a critical mind, understanding it to the best of our ability. Essentially, we need to carefully curate AI experiences and tools, selecting those that can be used to enhance the sensory, social, and exploratory nature of learning we seek to promote. As a practical life tool, we can perhaps show our students how to use AI responsibly and ethically. What about asking them what we could use it for? Can we expand our digital literacy using this tool? What about as tools for practical, real-life solutions to current issues? Might our students use an AI tool to analyze environmental data and propose a sustainable solution that the students could create? And how about the Grace and Courtesy aspect, encouraging media literacy and critical thinking to explore the ethical responsibility of using these tools (or any digital tools, one could argue)? I read an interesting and informative article recently about AI and Ethics for schools¹. Yes, we need to consider all of these aspects, but even more importantly, we need to get our students discussing and considering these issues, as well. Ask your students to analyze how AI systems work, like how YouTube recommends videos for their feeds. Or what about exploring AI’s role in their daily life, like what data Alexa uses to answer our questions? And then there are deeper ethical dilemmas we can discuss, such as whether robots should be allowed to make decisions for us. And what kind of bias is implicit in AI decision-making? Is it possible that racial, gender, socio-economic, and political inequities are mirrored in AI algorithms and output? 

Naturally, there will be drawbacks to implementing AI in a Montessori classroom. There are real fears of children becoming over-reliant on technology and losing skills in problem-solving or creative writing. To this, I would recommend my mother’s go-to advice: “Moderation in all things.” AI is just one tool, but do we not offer multiple scenarios and activities for them to develop these skills throughout the day? We can use our prepared environment to put structures in place that will help guide the students in making conscious choices for when we need to use technology and when we need to use our amazing imaginations.  

With this in mind, I offer a few suggestions for AI tools that can enhance learning in ways that respect the values we look to promote in our classrooms. 

I admit, none of these are perfect solutions, but nor are they enemies – they’re tools. We need a balanced approach to these tools and to keep an open mind for the opportunities they might provide while being equally as aware of the potential hazards. However, as I repeat in my book, Montessori in the Digital Age, if we do not address these tools, or choose to exclude them from our classroom, we are doing a great disservice to our students. Consider how we have an immense responsibility and the amazing possibilities we now have to provide a structure within our prepared environments. We can give our students the space to understand and explore the tools themselves while also guiding them in the ethical and social responsibility that goes with them. 

So now I want to hear what you think about all this. How do you see AI fitting into Montessori education? Share your ideas in the comments!