Survey: Gap exists between students, educators when it comes to using, understanding AI

SALT LAKE CITY — From K-12 to higher education, a significant gap exists when it comes to students' and teachers' incorporation of artificial intelligence.

That's according to a survey released Tuesday by Utah-based education technology giant Instructure, which polled 1,125 educators, higher education students and K-12 parents.

While 90% of higher education students said they use AI, 41% of higher education educators report receiving no formal AI training. In the K-12 realm, 73% of parents and guardians said their child uses AI, while 45% of K-12 educators surveyed said they received no formal AI training.

What's more, only 8% of K-12 educators and 11% of higher education educators reported receiving comprehensive training.

"Students recognize that they're entering a world in the workforce where they're going to be expected to use AI, and I think that drives a lot of the student use of it. What surprises me is that students are still looking to faculty; they're still looking to schools for how to use that tool responsibly and appropriately," Zach Pendleton, chief architect at Instructure, told KSL.

Not receiving training doesn't necessarily deter educators from incorporating AI into the classroom, though, as the survey shows 68% of K-12 educators and 61% of higher education educators use AI in class at least occasionally.

The University of Utah in May announced it would be providing all faculty, staff and students access to Google Gemini and NotebookLM and Utah Valley University in March 2025 signed a three-year agreement with Nvidia to provide its AI resources to the university population, to name a few Beehive State examples.

In addition to AI use and experience, the survey measured perceptions of AI, with trust varying by audience. Students reported the highest levels, educators were more cautious and parents fell between the two groups.

For all groups, the main concerns included an overreliance on AI, loss of critical thinking and deep learning, and academic integrity and plagiarism.

Pendleton believes that too often, the conversation around AI in education boils down to students using AI to cheat.

"The reality is a lot more complicated," Pendleton said. "Students need the guidance, and teachers are struggling to understand the tools themselves. How AI gets used effectively in education is not going to be decided by any one group, and I think it's most effective when it's an honest, open conversation between teachers and students."

Across all surveyed parties, teaching AI ethics and responsible use along with building AI literacy were the top two expectations for schools.

Additionally, AI was more accepted across all groups for support tasks such as explaining concepts, brainstorming and finding resources, and least accepted for grading or academic decisions.

Utah's Board of Higher Education in December 2025 approved a resolution setting a statewide direction on AI and establishing three strategic goals to guide the state's higher education institutions, along with an AI task force to oversee its implementation.

"The tool is not going anywhere. It's clearly shown that it's got staying power, and it provides a lot of value, but I think we're still at a point where educators and students can join the conversation and can shape the direction of what this thing looks like in education," Pendleton said.

"If they'll do that, the future we're looking at is one that's still human first."

More findings from the survey can be found here.

Related topics