Somerset County VoTech Teacher Publishes Book On Using AI In Classrooms

BRIDGEWATER — As artificial intelligence becomes more common in schools and workplaces, a Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School teacher has published a book aimed at helping educators use the technology in class.

Christopher Miller, an English instructor at SCVTHS, wrote Designing Lessons in the AI-Infused Classroom: A Five-Stage Framework for Educational Intelligence to offer strategies teachers can use while still encouraging student creativity and curiosity.

Miller has been a teacher for almost 20 years. At SCVTHS, he serves as a Teacher Leader, helping colleagues design student-centered curriculum that incorporates technology and appeals to their classes.

He has also spoken to educators about gamified learning, writing instruction, and classroom innovation, served as a mentor for new teachers, and been honored as Teacher of the Year.

As an English instructor, Miller teaches students how to express themselves through writing.

After he began noticing students submitting AI-generated work, he changed his approach.

He "decided to start tackling ways of getting authentic work out of students" using the tool rather than banning its use.

The strategies he developed eventually became the basis of the book, according to the school.

The book presents a five-step framework for classroom use.

It begins with engaging the learner in the subject matter, then moves to a process filter that requires students to take notes on the topic they are studying.

The next step adds a creative element that asks students to interpret the material in unique ways, followed by reflection, in which students synthesize the information they received and the materials they created.

The fifth step is AI integration.

According to Miller's approach, AI can be inserted at any point in the process, with the understanding that students may use it to develop ideas, but must ultimately produce their own work.

The book also includes resources and actionable plans that educators can read and implement regardless of subject area.

Miller said he hopes the book will help teachers build lessons that use AI in a way that creates more student-centered learning experiences.

"I would hope that teachers, supervisors, and administrators would read it to get a sense of, yeah, we can't ban it, so we need to learn how to use it. Because it is getting more prolific," said Miller.

Designing Lessons in the AI-Infused Classroom: A Five-Stage Framework for Educational Intelligence is published by Routledge. It is available through the publisher's website, as well as through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.