AI in Catholic Education: What K-12 Schools Owe Their Students

EPISODE DESCRIPTIONSchools should not race to keep pace with the digital world. They should give students what the digital world cannot: shared time for learning and trustworthy relationships. Jason Padgett sits down with Lewis Poché of the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education to ask what that principle demands in the age of AI.Lewis makes the case for teaching AI literacy before handing young students unrestricted tools. He explains why schools must protect the learning process instead of judging only the finished product, how sycophancy and anthropomorphism can distort a child’s relationship with AI, and why blanket bans repeat mistakes schools made with social media. The conversation moves from kindergarten image-analysis lessons to Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas, teacher use of AI, student guardrails, and the three dimensions of AI literacy: technical, dispositional, and practical.ABOUT THE GUESTLewis Poché is the Associate Program Director of Higher-Powered Learning at the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. A member of the 26th ACE Teaching Fellows cohort, he taught middle school math and science at Sacred Heart Nativity Schools in San Jose after studying engineering and philosophy at Southern Methodist University. His work helps Catholic school educators and leaders connect technology decisions to student formation, human dignity, and sound teaching practice.GUEST LINKSLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewispoche/Notre Dame ACE profile: https://ace.nd.edu/people/lewis-pocheStep Up EdTech: https://www.lewispoche.com/TIME STAMPS00:00 - Lewis Poché and the K-12 AI question06:01 - Teacher time, better feedback, and richer assessment08:40 - Product versus process in student learning12:06 - Teaching students to become creators and explorers18:07 - Magnifica Humanitas, Nehemiah, and the educator’s role24:00 - Why banning AI for younger students repeats the social media mistake30:42 - Sycophancy, anthropomorphism, and young learners40:26 - The technical, dispositional, and practical sides of AI literacy48:43 - What schools can offer that the digital world cannot52:15 - Teachers using AI while students are told they cannot59:10 - Guardrails, caution, and testing the limits of school AI toolsCONNECT WITH JASON PADGETTAI Solutions Architect📧 [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/X: https://x.com/NoCodeCAIONewsletter (No Code CAIO): https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/newsletter/Available for interviews and keynotes on AI in education → https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/eventsAGI PODCAST NETWORKSchool's Out Saturdays: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/Field Notes newsletter: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/field-notesIndiana AI education events: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/eventsAll AGI Podcast shows: https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/networkTOOLS JASON RECOMMENDSMindStudio → https://get.mindstudio.ai/q7n7u5cttkdqRiverside.fm → https://riverside.sjv.io/e1xyBrWispr Flow → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgettRESOURCES MENTIONEDHigher-Powered Learning: https://ace.nd.edu/programs/hplAI in Catholic Education: https://ace.nd.edu/programs/higher-powered-learning/ai-catholic-educationMagnifica Humanitas: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.htmlCommon Sense Media research on teen use of AI companions: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/talk-trust-and-trade-offs-how-and-why-teens-use-ai-companionsMagicSchool: https://www.magicschool.ai/SchoolAI: https://schoolai.com