The SEE Framework for Generative AI Literacy

A Practical Guide to Building Safe, Ethical, and Effective GenAI Literacy

The first AI literacy framework built specifically for generative AI and education.

The SEE Framework is a practical resource for educators, school leaders, and learning designers who want to build GenAI literacy in their communities. It provides a structured overview of what GenAI literacy is, why it matters, and recommendations for how to develop it across age ranges and adult learning contexts. It is grounded in research and refined through our direct work with schools, districts, and organizations.

Without GenAI literacy, training is inconsistent, policy is reactive, and educators are left navigating an increasingly complex landscape without a common language or clear direction.

Built on the knowledge, mindsets, and practices of GenAI literacy

At its core, the SEE Framework is the application of safe, ethical, and effective practices to GenAI use. These practices are grouped into three SEE domains but should be used together, based on knowledge of how GenAI works and mindsets for engaging with it.

Knowledge of How GenAI Works

The core concepts every learner needs: how GenAI works, what it can and can't do, and what risks it carries. Not technical expertise. Foundational understanding.

Mindsets of GenAI Use

Core beliefs about how to engage with GenAI: integrity, oversight, agency, respect, and adaptability. Mindsets drive how knowledge is applied in real decisions.

Safe, Ethical, & Effective Practices

The observable, teachable behaviors that demonstrate safe, ethical, and effective use of GenAI tools.

GenAI Literacy is a community practice, and building it is a collective responsibility.

Safe, Ethical, & Effective Practices

Safe

Protecting yourself and others from potential harms while maintaining human agency, judgment, and healthy boundaries with GenAI tools.

Protecting data privacy and security
Maintaining a healthy balance with AI tools
Evaluating GenAI risks before acting
Keeping humans in the decision seat

Effective

Engaging with tools in ways that are fair, honest, and mindful of broader impacts — on classmates, colleagues, communities, and society.

Disclosing GenAI use transparently
Upholding academic and professional integrity
Avoiding harmful use and seeking consent
Understanding societal impacts

Ethical

Producing outcomes that reflect the best of human thinking — combining expertise, creativity, and judgment with what GenAI can do.

Deciding intentionally when to use GenAI
Bringing your own thinking to every interaction
Using prompting and context-setting strategies
Evaluating and refining outputs

“In our work with educators, the true light bulb moments happen when people bring all three lenses together and evolve their thinking, decision-making, and behavior.”

What it includes

The SEE Framework is designed for everyone with a stake in how learners engage with these tools. The framework includes everything you need to build GenAI literacy in your community.