AI-Assisted Incident Response

Quick-Start Guide for Educators

The Big Idea (Read This First)

This isn’t “students learn about cyberattacks.” It’s students experiencing how cybersecurity professionals actually work together during crises—with AI as a critical team member.

The shift:

Old Framing This Activity
Cybersecurity is individual heroics Cybersecurity is coordinated teamwork
AI replaces human analysts AI and humans have complementary strengths
Response means following procedures Response requires judgment under pressure

What students should discover (don’t tell them—let them find it):

  • Different roles bring different essential perspectives
  • AI excels at speed and pattern recognition; humans excel at context and judgment
  • Real incidents require trade-offs with no perfect answers
  • Time pressure changes how teams make decisions

The Scenario Framework

Teams respond to a realistic security incident, with each member taking a specific role. AI serves as the technical analyst partner, providing analysis that humans must interpret and act upon.

Core scenarios across grade bands:

  • K-2: Computers won’t turn on (robot helper finds the problem)
  • 3-5: Malware/pop-ups on classroom computers (investigation team)
  • 6-8: Ransomware, data breach, or social media compromise
  • 9-12: APT-level attack on enterprise with technical evidence

The Flow

Phase Time What’s Happening Your Role
1. Initial Assessment 10 min Teams review evidence, assign roles, get AI analysis Ensure all team members engage; help with role assignment
2. Response Planning 15 min Teams analyze findings, develop response plan Push for documented reasoning, not just decisions
3. Response Execution 15 min Teams execute plan while handling complications Inject complications at 5-min intervals
4. After-Action Review 10 min Teams debrief, connect to careers Focus on collaboration quality, not “right” answers

Critical Facilitation Moves

During Phase 1 (Initial Assessment):

“Each role sees something different. Before you share with your team, make sure YOU understand what your role uniquely contributes.”

This matters because students need to experience the value of specialization before collaboration.

During Phase 2 (Response Planning):

“The AI gave you a recommendation. Before you follow it, ask: What does AI know? What doesn’t it know?”

Watch for: Students accepting AI recommendations without critical evaluation. Redirect: “What context might AI be missing here?”

During Phase 3 (Response Execution):

“Here’s a complication…” [inject new development]

Watch for: Teams freezing or abandoning their plan entirely. Redirect: “How does this change your priorities? What stays the same?”

During Phase 4 (After-Action Review):

“What could ONLY humans have contributed to this response? What could ONLY AI have contributed?”

This is the key learning moment—don’t rush it.

Materials Needed

Low-resource option: Use AI Response Cards as printed handouts. The teacher reads AI analysis aloud or teams draw cards. The roleplay and collaboration still deliver the same learning.

Role Assignments

For Grades 6-8 and 9-12 (4-5 roles):

Role Primary Responsibility AI Partnership Focus
Incident Commander Final decisions, coordination Impact assessment, prioritization
SOC Analyst / Lead Analyst Technical investigation Pattern recognition, log analysis
Threat Intelligence Attacker context, TTPs Threat correlation, campaign mapping
Communications Stakeholder messaging, documentation Clear explanation generation
Evidence Coordinator (optional) Chain of custody, forensics Evidence organization

For Grades 3-5 (4 roles):

Role Primary Responsibility
Detective Looks at clues, notices patterns
AI Partner Asks questions, shares AI responses
Recorder Documents findings and decisions
Reporter Presents team findings to class

For Grades K-2 (3-4 roles, whole class):

Role What They Do
Detective “What do you see?”
Thinker “What might have caused this?”
Robot Helper Teacher-voiced; “I can check things!”
Helper “I’ll try that!”

The Debrief Questions That Matter

  1. “What did your role contribute that others couldn’t?” (Specialization value)
  2. “Where did AI help? Where did it fall short?” (Partnership calibration)
  3. “What trade-offs did you make?” (No perfect answers)
  4. “What was hardest about working under time pressure?” (Real-world reality)
  5. “What NICE Framework careers do this work?” (Career connection)

If Things Go Wrong

Problem It’s Actually Do This
One person dominates Role boundaries unclear “Each role needs to contribute. Detective, what did YOU notice?”
Team accepts AI blindly Haven’t found AI limitations yet “What can’t AI know about this situation? What context is it missing?”
Team ignores AI completely Treating AI as optional “You have an expert analyst available. Why not consult them?”
Team can’t decide Afraid of wrong answer “In real incidents, delayed decisions have costs too. What’s your best option now?”
Complications overwhelm team Normal stress response “Prioritize. What’s the ONE thing you need to address first?”

Complication Injection Tips

Inject complications during Phase 3 to simulate real incident dynamics:

Timing: Every 5 minutes introduce one complication per team

Escalation: Start mild, increase pressure

Example sequence: 1. “Media has picked up the story—reporters are calling” 2. “New systems are showing signs of compromise” 3. “The CEO wants an update in 10 minutes” 4. “A parent group is organizing a meeting for tonight”

Purpose: Test adaptation without overwhelming. If a team is struggling, offer a simpler complication or pause.

Grade-Band Notes

Grade Band Version Name Key Adaptations
K-2 Fix It Team! Whole class; teacher voices robot; focus on teamwork; 20-25 min
3-5 Computer Problem Solvers 4-person teams; malware investigation; structured steps; 35-40 min
6-8 AI-Assisted Incident Response Full team roles; scenario options; complications; 50-60 min
9-12 SOC Analyst Simulation Technical evidence; MITRE ATT&CK; executive communications; 55-60 min

From “True Teamwork: Building Human-AI Partnerships” — NICE K12 2025 Dr. Ryan Straight, University of Arizona • ryanstraight@arizona.edu