Ask how they used AI, not whether
"Did you use AI?" invites a no. "How did you use it?" starts the conversation you actually need to have.
Aug 4, 2026 · 1 min read
Blanket bans mostly teach concealment. Asking whether AI was used frames it as a confession; asking how frames it as process, and process is something you can teach. A simple disclosure norm makes usage visible, and visible usage is coachable. The OECD and European Commission's AI literacy framework takes the same stance: teachers as professional decision-makers who guide students' AI use, not gatekeepers who merely permit or prohibit (OECD & European Commission, 2026).
In practice
- Add one line to submissions: "Describe any AI use: what you asked, what you kept, what you changed." Two sentences is fine.
- Respond to disclosures as pedagogy, not policing: "You accepted its structure. Was it better than yours? Next time argue with it first."
- Model it yourself. When a resource you hand out started life in a chatbot, say so and show what you changed. The norm you demonstrate is the norm you get.
- Keep genuinely closed tasks explicit (see "Declare the no-AI zone") so disclosure never blurs into permission.
Quick takeaway: you can't teach judgement about a tool students have to pretend they didn't use.