In an art classroom at Forest Brook Middle School, students closed their eyes and listened to instrumental music as a graduate student guided them to picture a person, place, moment or emotion. The students began to sketch — one drew waves like the ocean, another a curve like a petal — and then dipped their paintbrushes onto their palettes to bring color to their visions. The activity was part of a workshop organized by the University of Houston College of Education and funded by a grant from the Arts Connect Houston Arts Action Fund.

At the University of Houston, educators are in the early stages of exploring the positive and negative boundaries of AI, while enthusiastically encouraging its use over prohibiting it. It’s a conscious decision that puts UH at the forefront of a movement that could fundamentally alter the way students learn. Susie Gronseth, a clinical professor in the Learning, Design and Technology program area of the College of Education, takes the philosophy one step further, stressing that AI should be used with clearly set goals, keeping outcomes front and center. She says AI should be tapped only when it meaningfully supports those goals and not for just “the trendiness of it.”

Texas public school classrooms are at a critical turning point, according to new research from the UH’s Education Research Center. The latest Texas Teacher Workforce report reveals that the share of uncertified teachers has reached a historic high, while student enrollment and teacher employment numbers decline. “The findings of this report reinforce a sense of urgency for all who care about the educational outcomes of our more than 5 million K-12 students in Texas,” said Cathy Horn, dean of the UH College of Education.