With eighteen years of teaching experience, Saar shared his perspective on the changes. Find the conversation below.
What has the rollout of AI looked like so far?
The program was announced in February this year, and it was supposed to take effect during the beginning of this academic year. Teachers got access to the ChatGPT education platform, but at the moment [September 19th, 2025], students don’t have those tools.
So far, I’d say we are at the very beginning of this journey. The delays are mainly due to how to make tools available for underage students, and other issues around data protection. When I log in to the platform, for example, it announces that all of my conversations might be accessible by my employer and under their control. What does that mean? How is it going to be used? I’d like to know that. It seems like no one has been able to answer that yet. We’ve been told our chats will not be used to train the AI tool. But concerning who will access them, and how, I don’t know.
There’s also a high level of autonomy in how we are supposed to use these tools. The Minister of Education said that it’s up to the teachers to decide what and how they want to use AI tools. So, now we need to reconsider how to teach, assess work, and use these tools. The next step would be talking to subject specialists—asking how they use it, how they suggest we should use it. There’s no point in rushing this.
The message we’ve been given is that this is only the very beginning. What the ministry has proposed, alongside the people running the program, is that all schools should set up learning groups, or learning circles, so that teachers train themselves, among themselves. In a way it sounds like they’re saying: “you do it,” whereas I would like to be able to consult expert knowledge. I teach more than thirty lessons a week, which means my resources to do my own research are limited.
How do you envision student performance changing once they have access to AI tools in the classroom?
One of my worries is that implementing AI as a tool might not decrease the gaps in student performance, but increase it. Students who are motivated to learn will use AI much more efficiently than those who aren’t or just want the answer.
“… those who lack analytical skills might get a misleading impression that they’ve learned. For example, if you solve a problem with AI and can’t solve it later on your own, what have you learned? Learning didn’t happen—you just copied the answer.”
(Martin Saar)
What we saw during COVID with online learning was that some students got even higher results than usual, because they could pace themselves, had better access to study materials, and had good time management and planning skills. But other students got lost. They didn’t come to class, they missed deadlines, and lost track of their learning. I’m afraid a similar thing might happen if we don’t emphasize the importance of why and how you learn.
Overall, I think there are some benefits. Students can ask questions and receive solutions they can analyze. But those who lack analytical skills might get a misleading impression that they’ve learned. For example, if you solve a problem with AI and can’t solve it later on your own, what have you learned? Learning didn’t happen—you just copied the answer.
In my opinion, the best way for a student to use AI is as a personal consulting tool. For example, a student might ask, “I’m not confident about the difference between a chemical and physical change. Give me a task to solve.” Or they might solve a problem with an AI tool, and then the teacher and student can discuss it together.
How has your role as a teacher shifted with AI in the classroom?
In terms of lesson preparation, I think there are some benefits. I can use it to diversify my example problems and questions. But if I ask for a full lesson plan, the quality is far below my own. I’ve been teaching for eighteen years; I know my students’ usual mistakes and what they’re interested in.
“Now teachers aren’t just teachers, but also becoming promoters of learning—we need to sell the idea that while AI might provide you answers, doing the work yourself improves your thinking skills.”
(Martin Saar)
As for the teacher’s role, there’s a lot of debate about how to use AI in a way that enhances learning but doesn’t substitute it. One of the major concerns is that students will use AI not to improve learning, but just to get the answers without developing their own critical thinking skills. I think it’s even more important now to explain to students how learning takes place, and why developing their own thinking skills is important. Now teachers aren’t just teachers, but also becoming promoters of learning—we need to sell the idea that while AI might provide you answers, doing the work yourself improves your thinking skills.
Another part of my role will be giving advice on how to use AI tools efficiently in science. For example, data analysis, cross-analysis, and referencing. I use AI myself for data analysis, like making graphs. But if you just give it raw data, sometimes you’ll get nonsense. So, it’s also my task to teach students how to use AI correctly in those contexts.
What kinds of support or resources would help teachers use AI more effectively in chemistry education?
From my perspective, I would like professional teaching advice from someone who has used AI tools in their teaching and has monitored the impact on learning. I don’t have the time and resources to test everything myself—that’s not my job. There are people who should be on the forefront of teaching and learning method development. If you want this to succeed, you need to give teachers the time and proper resources.
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To learn more about the TI-Hüpe program, read our interview with CEO Ivo Visak, available on our website.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
This article was written by Natalie Jenkins as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
