Laurier Faculty of Education researchers prepare teachers to lead in an AI-powered world

Aug. 25, 2026

In schools across Ontario, the rapid rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) is influencing teaching and learning in every classroom from kindergarten to Grade 12. For Faculties of Education, where future teachers are trained, gen AI is not just a technology challenge – it’s a seismic shift.

“We’re unique in teacher education,” says Wilfrid Laurier University Professor Julie Mueller. “We’re teaching about AI, we’re teaching with AI, and we’re teaching about how to teach with AI. It can get complicated.”

Mueller and Assistant Professor Keri Ewart noted a gap in existing teacher education around the subject of AI. While there was substantial training in technological tools and individual ethics, the sector lacked a framework to meaningfully integrate AI literacy into teacher education programs.

To address the gap, the duo created the AIME architecture, which helps educators understand how AI systems work, their limitations, biases and ethical risks, and empowers them to teach AI literacy and fluency to students with the same level of care and critical attention.

“We looked at so many frameworks for AI implementation and technology,” says Ewart. “They each had their strengths, but we felt that we could enhance them by including ethics, cultural responsiveness and adaptability.”

What is AIME?

AIME gets its name from its four pillars: adaptive – AI education must evolve alongside learners’ changing needs; inclusive – the tools and data used should be culturally responsive and reflect the diverse identities and experiences of students; multi-literacies – learners must critically examine how AI is shaping and reshaping traditional approaches to learning; and ethical/experiential – learning about AI requires opportunities for hands-on access and experimentation.

Mueller and Ewart use the term ‘architecture’ because AIME is meant to be a foundation that can be built upon. It provides a framework to guide decision-making in the creation of AI policy and governance at the institutional level, while also offering a roadmap for practical implementation in the classroom that enhances learning without replacing critical thought.

To address the ethical issues of bias and cultural exclusion that can occur in the development, training and outputs of AI models, Mueller and Ewart have partnered with other researchers, educators and Waterloo based software company Mrln.ai, all of which used the AIME framework to guide the development of custom generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs).

Mueller and Ewart consulted with members of Indigenous, under-represented and under-served communities to incorporate the knowledge and experiences of these groups into the models, which were also trained on Ontario Ministry of Education approved research and resources.

Built upon ChatGPT, these tools act as sandboxes where educators can experiment with AI to develop learning strategies specific to their students’ needs, and students can use the assistance of AI writing companions to enhance learning, all while ensuring that the outputs they receive are grounded in the four pillars of AIME.

“If we want AI to be used ethically, we expect it to be designed ethically,” says Ewart.

AIME in practice

AIME is deeply embedded in Laurier’s Faculty of Education, both in AI policy creation as well as in-class curriculum through course design and teacher training. For Laurier Education students and current teachers in the field, it offers crucial skill-building in an emerging area.

Laurier Bachelor of Education student Jules Spracklin has gained a deeper understanding of AI in education through AIME.

“AIME emphasizes that effective AI use must be grounded in ethical practice, cultural responsiveness and critical reflection, ensuring that technology enhances learning without replacing it,” says Spracklin. “As a future educator, the use of AIME will continue to shape my teaching practices.”

Equipping educators with the AIME framework also means that future AI education will be age-appropriate, focused on individual student needs and grounded in research.

“It’s important to teach students how to use AI and not let it do their critical thinking for them,” says Kay Lavery (BBA ’23, BEd ’26), an occasional teacher with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Laurier graduate. “In my classroom, the humans are the thinkers.”

Ewart and Mueller have presented AIME at many conferences and panels, both locally and internationally, including a Laurier research-policy think tank on AI in education, where they led faculty members, elementary and high school leaders, government officials, and community partners in an exploration of ethical, inclusive approaches to AI using AIME.

The pair is currently exploring how to apply the architecture outside of education, so AIME can help develop AI adoption policies on a national scale.

“AI is not going anywhere,” says Ewart. “At Laurier, we need to stay at the forefront so we can continue to help our students navigate this tricky landscape and think through the use of AI in ethical, adaptive and critical ways.”