As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms education, Union Catholic faculty member Dr. Marla James is helping lead the conversation on how schools can adapt while keeping authentic learning at the center of the classroom.

James, named the 2024 Co-Non-Public School Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Council for American Private Education and a national voice on the intersection of education, ethics, and innovation, has published a timely new book, Documented Learning: Process over Product in the Age of AI, which offers educators a practical framework for embracing AI while ensuring that students remain active, engaged learners.

The book, which is available for purchase on Amazon by clicking here, explores one of the biggest challenges facing education today: how teachers can truly assess student learning when artificial intelligence can instantly generate essays, solve problems, and complete assignments.

"The book grew out of years of presentations, speeches, and research," said James. "Like many other educators, I found myself constantly asking, 'How do we know what students are actually learning when AI can generate essays and complete other student assignments in seconds?' Consequently, I immersed myself in addressing that issue."

James said she became increasingly concerned that many proposed solutions focused on catching students using AI instead of redesigning learning for a world where AI is already part of everyday life.

"I also encountered too many proposed solutions that focused almost entirely on catching students using AI instead of redesigning learning for a world where AI already exists," James said. "That felt backwards."

Instead of policing AI use, James advocates for what she calls "documented learning"—an approach that shifts the emphasis from evaluating only the final product to understanding the learning process that produced it.

"Documented learning is the intentional practice of making learning visible," James explained. "Instead of submitting only a finished product, students document the journey. This can include how they brainstormed, conducted research, evaluated evidence, collaborated with AI, questioned AI output, made revisions, and reflected on their decisions."

James believes this approach provides teachers with a much clearer picture of what students actually know and understand.

"In an age when AI can generate impressive work almost instantly, the process is the most valuable evidence of learning," James said. "When students can explain how they arrived at an outcome, not just submit the final product, we gain a richer, more detailed picture of their understanding."

James credits much of her inspiration to the innovative culture at Union Catholic, particularly Assistant Principal Noreen Andrews.

"I am inspired daily by my colleagues, especially UC's assistant principal, Noreen Andrews," James said. "We have worked on many projects together that explore the role of AI in education."

She pointed to Andrews' leadership of Union Catholic's Responsible AI in Learning initiative, which included Kathy Webber, Catarino Portillo, Dr. Edward Sagendorf, and James, and ultimately earned the school the prestigious Responsible AI in Learning (RAIL) Endorsement from the Middle States Association.

"My work on the project was one of the many factors that motivated me to explore how we could make student thinking, decision-making, and growth visible again," James said. "Documented learning is my answer to that challenge; it is a framework that shifts educators' attention from policing products to understanding the learning that produced them."

James also thanked her husband, Keith, for encouraging her throughout the writing process.

"My husband, Keith, is another inspiration," she said. "He has supported me and encouraged me in delivering this book now when it is most needed."

Throughout the book, James argues that AI should be embraced as a learning tool—not feared or prohibited.

"The concept of perceiving AI as a 'tool' is paramount," James said. "Educators and students need to put AI in the category of search engines and peer collaborators. When used as a tool, AI can support thinking. We do not want students offloading their work to AI platforms."

Rather than relying on AI detection software, James believes schools should build transparency into every stage of learning.

"I don't support using plagiarism detectors to determine whether a submission is the student's own work," she said. "Detectors are fallible and increase tension between teachers and students while decreasing trust."

Instead, James recommends requiring students to submit research logs, revision histories, AI-use logs, reflection journals, annotated AI conversations, video explanations, and oral presentations alongside final assignments.

"The goal is not to prove that students didn't use AI," James said. "It's to understand how they used it, where they challenged it, where they improved upon it, and ultimately what they learned."

Among the many documentation strategies featured in the book, James highlights AI-use logs, reflection journals, annotated drafts, and video portfolios because they capture student thinking while it is happening.

"Reflection journals encourage metacognition," James said. "Students need to be taught how to think about their learning and knowledge acquisition. Video portfolios give students the opportunity to explain ideas and how they arrived at them in their own voices."

For educators feeling overwhelmed by the pace of AI innovation, James offers reassuring advice.

"Start small," she said. "You don't need to redesign your entire curriculum. Choose one assignment and ask students to submit one additional artifact that reveals their thinking. That artifact could be a reflection, a planning document, a revision log, or an annotated draft."

James believes shifting attention from final products to the learning journey helps students become stronger thinkers and problem-solvers.

"Students learn to be more purposeful in what they do since they know that they will eventually be asked to explain their thought processes and decisions, provide justifications for changing things, assess information, and even reflect on failures," she said.

Looking toward the future, James believes AI literacy will become an essential life skill, but only when paired with critical thinking, ethical decision-making, creativity, communication, adaptability, and information literacy.

"The future lies with individuals who have the capacity to work with AI without being overly reliant on it," James said. "Schools can promote these skills by providing students with real-life problems, requiring them to provide rationales for their solutions, encouraging collaboration with AI in a productive way, and incorporating reflective exercises."

Ultimately, James hopes educators remember that technology may change, but meaningful learning remains constant.

"AI has transformed what our students can do, but it has not altered what learning is," James said. "It is not by attempting to outwit artificial intelligence through the use of detectors that we employ our best academic practices. It is by rethinking learning to the point where the thought process itself cannot be concealed. By exposing the process of learning, we do more than defend academic honesty; we foster curiosity, perseverance, reflection, and comprehension."

Packed with current research, classroom examples, and practical strategies, Documented Learning: Process over Product in the Age of AI serves as both a call to action and a roadmap for educators seeking to prepare students for an AI-driven future while preserving authentic learning. The book provides K-12 teachers, instructional leaders, administrators, and higher education faculty with innovative tools to make student thinking more visible, encourage ethical AI use, strengthen critical thinking, and ensure that the process of learning remains at the heart of education.