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BIG Questions Institute Update

January 15, 2026, No. 195 (Read Online)
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Five AI Education Trends to Understand for 2026

Sending all best wishes for 2026! This is a first of the trend-sharing and sense-making pieces that we will share with readers and friends in this already unsettled and unsettling year. Thanks to Kathleen Naglee, Senior Consultant and AI Futurist for BQI, for kicking us off!

I (Kathleen) have spent the last semester talking to school leaders, educators, students, politicians, ed tech designers while also following the emerging literature on AI in education and this is a short summary of the trends I’ve been seeing and initial recommendations I have for school leaders in 2026.

1. The Age of Ambient AI The Computer Electronics Show 2026 showcase in Las Vegas proved that AI is no longer a tool we choose; it is the atmosphere. It is being integrated into every consumer product from toys to refrigerators. For school leaders, the debate over "banning" AI is officially over. Whether we restrict it in the classroom or not, it is becoming the substrate of the tech our students interact with every day. Most of the ed tech products students use has now been integrated with AI in the past six months anyway including our student information systems. We are no longer managing a digital tool; we are navigating a permanent environmental shift.

Recommendation: Start having conversations with parents and students about what life is like at home now. How do devices like Alexa fit into your family’s life? The majority of queries are personal in ChatGPT and students are forming synthetic AI relationships in the background. What family needs are being met by AI that may need to be examined?

2. The Transparency Gap Schools are currently expected to vet AI systems without any real transparency into how these models are built or trained. This lack of data leaves school tech leaders feeling overwhelmed and under-supported. The result is a surge in learning policies based on attempts to create certainty where there is none; we are attempting to create rigid rules for a technological landscape that is actually fluid, opaque, and rapidly shifting. Schools are choosing closed systems such as MagicSchool or other products believing in claims of safety and the illusion of positive learning design. The truth is murkier.

Recommendation: Start asking better questions of your tech integrator. How is the data anonymized? Are student queries used in training? What are the learning design principles under the hood of this system? How do students report hallucinations and bias?

3. The Geopolitical Regulatory Fracture We are seeing a massive divergence in how AI is governed globally. While the EU maintains strict frameworks, the US is currently dismantling AI regulations and thus reducing safeguards in schools. This directly reduces accountability for developers in the ed tech market. Simultaneously, products from China and India are entering the space with student surveillance built in as a core feature. AI systems are not neutral. AI recognizes patterns and builds in features that calibrate to the emotional state of the user. Without giving any information about yourself, it has made a profile of you based on your language patterns. We are operating in a global "wild west" where data privacy and psychological safety are no longer guaranteed.

Recommendation: Currently the EU AI Act is the standard to judge systems deployed in schools but it is under threat. Refuse systems that do not meet the EU AI Act and learn the law’s current features so that if it is dismantled you know to reject features such as face recognition, listening and other surveillance capabilities.

4. The Performance vs. Mastery Trap AI is currently accelerating poor pedagogy by prioritizing immediate output over deep learning. Many chatbots provide "help" that actually bypasses the neuroscience of learning, specifically the struggle required for retrieval and transfer. When tools provide the answer without the cognitive scaffolding, they amplify short-term gains for tests while hollowing out durable intellectual growth. We are accidentally training students to consume more content quickly but without sound practices for later recall. Mastery is being inadvertently reduced. This problem is not new to curriculum design but AI is now acting as an accelerant.

Recommendation: Give PD that explores the neuroscience of learning and help teachers to build curriculum with or without AI tools that rewards mastery and not short term performance. AI bots can be organized based on these principles. We have to move from “Intro to AI” with teachers to effective AI practice.

5. Surviving the demise of Search. The open internet is being flooded with AI-generated "slop" and sponsored posts, making traditional search engines such as Google significantly less useful. To find credible information, students and educators must now act as internet archaeologists. The core literacy of 2026 is no longer about finding information; it is about the specialized skill of digging through layers of synthetic data to find pre-2023 sources.

Recommendation: Schools and educators need to archive reliable and credible material. We may need to start asking teachers to upload peer-reviewed research into safe storage to build curriculum. We need to ask the market to do the same.

Conclusion:

We all know AI is moving very fast. We need to be humble and agile in our approach to policy and educational design in 2026. Let your staff, students, colleagues, parents and Board members know that there are no definitive answers. Work with your students and community to ensure choices are iterated and reviewed. Ultimately, use your mission to guide your decisions.

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BQI is ready to assist your team as a thought partner on AI policy, PD and integration. To schedule an exploratory call, please contact Kathleen at: kathleen@bigquestions.institute or Homa at: homa@bigquestions.institute
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Upcoming events to find Kathleen:

​British Schools of the Middle East Leadership Conference - Abu Dhabi, UAE Feb 4-5 “Humans Flourishing in the Age of AI”

​Toddle School Leadership Innovation Forum Europe: Prague, Czech Republic March 2 “Developing Mastery with AI”

Berlin, Germany March 9 “Operationalizing Inclusion Through MTSS: Innovative Leadership Moves in Action”

​CEESA conference Sophia, Bulgaria March 14-16

Leadership Training Pre-Conference: Leadership is a Relationship, not a Role

Workshops: The Tender Future, Love as Innovation

​ECIS Leadership Conference Lisbon, Portugal April 23-26

The Tender Future: Love as Innovation, Design and Strategy

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​An Invitation: Learn (and Partner!) With BQI

If you're considering:

• Board retreat or governance training
• Senior Leadership Team up-skilling and cohesion
• Strategic planning and community-based design
• AI strategy that's people-first
• Leadership coaching
• Keynote speakers
• Professional development days... and more

Reach out! We love accompanying schools and leaders through their unique challenges. Contact Homa Tavangar: homa@bigquestions.institute to schedule an exploratory call.

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