Irreplaceable: How AI Changes Everything (and Nothing) in Teaching and Learning - Softcover

Maya Bialik; Peter Nilsson

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798893740394

Publisher: Solution Tree Press, 2026

Synopsis

• Practical guidance for the AI era, not more hype. This book cuts through the noise around artificial intelligence in education, showing teachers, instructional coaches, and district leaders exactly where AI genuinely helps instruction, where it falls short, and how to make sound calls either way, grounded in classroom reality instead of tech marketing.
• Built for teaching with AI, not theorizing about it. Instead of abstract predictions, readers get concrete strategies for teaching with AI: integrating tools into daily lesson planning, protecting deep learning and critical thinking, and using AI for teachers and AI for educators without losing the human core of the classroom.
• Takes AI literacy and ethics seriously. Chapters walk through what students and teachers actually need to know about artificial intelligence in schools, including responsible and ethical use, academic integrity in an AI-aware teaching environment, and how to build real AI literacy without turning classrooms into tech showcases.
• A guide for every role in the building. Whether you're a classroom teacher, instructional coach, curriculum director, or superintendent, this book delivers role-specific takeaways for using classroom technology and educational technology thoughtfully and consistently across an entire district.
• From a trusted voice in professional learning. Written for the same educators who rely on Solution Tree for practical, research-informed professional development, this book brings that same rigor to one of the biggest questions facing schools today: what AI changes in teaching and learning, and what stays irreplaceably human.

Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: AI for Teachers
Chapter 1: The Research Assistant
Chapter 2: The Planning Assistant
Chapter 3: The Feedback Assistant
Part 2: AI for Students
Chapter 4: The Learning Assistant
Chapter 5: The Doing Assistant
Part 3: AI for the Classroom
Chapter 6: The Administrative Assistant
Chapter 7: The Teaching Assistant
Epilogue
References and Resources
Index

About this title

About the Author

Maya Bialik is earning her PhD in educational studies at Boston University, and is the founder of QuestionWell AI, which creates research-aligned AI tools for education. A former middle school science teacher, Maya’s focus is on how AI can improve working conditions for teachers, making their creative work easier, more effective, and more enjoyable. Her two previous books are Artificial Intelligence In Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning and Four-Dimensional Education: The Competencies Learners Need to Succeed. Maya has worked with teachers, school leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, leading workshops, giving keynotes, teaching courses, presenting at conferences, and consulting. Since earning her master’s degree in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2012, Maya has been passionate about bridging the gaps among researchers, practitioners, and technologists. Combining her immigrant experience and her experience learning, performing, and directing narrative and musical improv, she creates collaborative spaces for grappling with complex topics and building mutual understanding.
Maya serves on the board of The Plenary, Co., a civic arts and sciences nonprofit building collective knowledge, community agency, and public imagination. She is also an adviser for the Center for Curriculum Redesign, a nonprofit that asks the question “What should students learn to be prepared for the twenty-first century?” She holds bachelors’ degrees in psychology, biology, and linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Peter Nilsson is an educator, writer, and musician with over two decades of experience in teaching and school leadership. He was the head of school at King’s Academy, a coeducational boarding school in Jordan, and he taught English for fifteen years and served in leadership positions at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Peter is also the editor of The Educator’s Notebook, a weekly newsletter that gathers education- and learning-related news from around the web for the purpose of promoting innovation in education. He is the cofounder of Athena Lab, a collaborative online platform for teachers.
Peter serves on the advisory boards for SXSW EDU, the Center for Curriculum Redesign, and the Middle States Association Responsible AI in Learning endorsement. His presentations on AI in education, creativity, cognitive science, and educational technology have been featured at national and international conferences, including SXSW EDU, the College Board, and the OECD. In 2017, he became the first high school teacher to receive an Innovation Award from Wolfram Research for the design and implementation of a digital humanities course.
A composer and writer, Peter is also the creator of a musical about schools. His creative work in music and education reflects his belief that the most powerful learning happens at the intersections of disciplines, cultures, and ideas.
Peter studied English and music at Middlebury College, earned his master of arts from Columbia University, and received a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute grant to study Paradise Lost. He lives with his wife and two children, and enjoys reading, trail running, and writing music.

Edition details

• Publisher: Solution Tree Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798893740394
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Number of pages: 264