When we talk about AI literacy, we often rush to the technical side of things: how AI works, how to craft effective prompts, how to integrate tools into instruction. And while all of that is essential, it’s only part of the picture.
What’s often missing in the conversation is mindset. Technical know-how matters, but without the right attitudes, even the best tools fall flat. To make AI a real asset in your teaching, you need more than skills; you need a classroom culture that embraces AI as a co-thinking partner; as a catalyst for deeper learning.
That’s what this new visual is about. In it, I highlight 8 essential attitudes that teachers can nurture to create an AI-friendly mindset, one that welcomes innovation, invites reflection, and supports responsible integration.
Many of these ideas are influenced by the work of psychologist Carol Dweck and her research on the power of mindset in learning and adaptation.
This poster is part of my broader work on AI literacy for teachers, and I’ve made it available as a PDF so you can use it in your classroom, in staff PD sessions, or simply as a conversation starter.
If it resonates, feel free to share it with others in your network.
Attitudes for Developing AI-Friendly Mindset
Here the 8 attitudes, I believe, every teacher needs to work on to develop an AI-friendly mindset:
- Curiosity: A willingness to explore how AI works and what it can do in your teaching practice.
- Openness to Change: Accepting that AI will reshape aspects of education—and being ready to adapt rather than resist.
- Skepticism: Not taking AI outputs at face value. Questioning results, checking for bias, and verifying accuracy.
- Growth Mindset: Seeing AI as a tool that you can learn to use over time, not something you have to master all at once.
- Responsibility: Understanding your role in using AI ethically, especially when it affects students’ data, learning, or wellbeing.
- Flexibility: Being able to shift between tools, approaches, or strategies depending on what works best for your students.
- Confidence: Trusting your professional judgment when deciding when and how to use AI—and when not to.
- Reflection: Thinking critically about the impact of AI on your practice, your students, and your values as an educator.
Final thoughts
Adopting AI in education isn’t just a technical shift, it’s a cultural one. These attitudes aren’t are foundational dispositions that shape how effectively we engage with AI in the classroom. If we want AI to enhance teaching rather than distract from it, we need to pair competence with character, skills with mindset. Start with curiosity. Stay grounded in reflection. And above all, lead with purpose. Because in the end, it’s not AI that makes the difference, it’s how we choose to use it.
