AI Literacy for Teachers Understanding and Using Adaptive Learning Systems

Abstract

As adaptive learning systems become increasingly visible in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, teachers are being asked to work with technologies that reshape how learning is monitored, supported, and evaluated. Yet the success of these systems does not depend on technical sophistication alone. It depends, more quietly but more decisively, on teachers’ ability to understand what artificial intelligence (AI) can do, what it cannot do, and how its recommendations should be interpreted within the lived complexity of classrooms. This chapter examines AI literacy as a professional necessity for teachers using adaptive learning systems. It explores the conceptual foundations of AI literacy, the pedagogical value of adaptive technologies, the ethical responsibilities surrounding data-driven decisions, and the importance of preserving teacher agency. The chapter argues that meaningful AI integration requires teachers who are not passive users of intelligent systems, but critical, reflective, and humane interpreters of them.