Teaching for the AI-Mediated Mind: A Practical Guide for Educators

Personal AI assistants are fundamentally changing how students engage with educational content. This paper introduces a three-phase framework for understanding AI integration in higher education, with particular focus on the emerging Phase 3: designing instruction for student-AI partnerships rather than students alone. Through concrete classroom examples and practical strategies, we demonstrate how educators can adapt pedagogy for this new reality. The paper addresses the immediate challenges facing instructors—from embedded prompt design to reconceptualizing assessment—while critically examining equity concerns, cognitive risks, and the preservation of student agency. Our purpose is not to advocate uncritically for AI adoption, but to equip educators with frameworks and strategies for navigating a transformation already underway in their classrooms.