When Teachers Want to Learn and the System Isn't Moving
Something happened recently that I haven't been able to shake. I found out that an upper elementary teacher in my building has been uploading student papers into their personal ChatGPT account at home. And honestly, my first reaction wasn't frustration with them. It was frustration with the situation. They're curious, they want to use these tools, and nobody has pointed them toward the resources we already have. (We have Gemini built right into our Google Workspace. It's just... sitting there.)There's no AI policy in our district right now. There's no formal PD plan on the horizon that I know of, and when there has been one previously, elementary teachers weren't able to attend due to other mandated obligations. And I don't have a seat at the table where those decisions get made. So I've been figuring out what I can do within those constraints.Two things have actually worked for me. I asked my principal for a small slice of time at the monthly staff meetings, just enough to share something useful and consistent without adding another meeting to anyone's calendar. And separately, I offered an optional Saturday session that teachers could pay me for directly, at a rate low enough that it's really more about access than income. What surprised me about the Saturday session is who showed up: people who genuinely wanted to be there, which completely changed the energy in the room.I'm curious whether others are navigating something similar. For those of you in districts without...
13 replies
Josh,It's like you read my mind! I plan on talking to the superintendent next week. I think the fact that this happened in elementary school, where using AI isn't even on admin's radar, is telling. AI reaches every level these days. And way ahead of the PD curve.
My local authority has an AI policy but I wasn't sure how wildly it was known. I was also hearing stories about staff at other school sharing one ChatGPT account and being told it was okay to put students data into it. That was part of what made me step up to become the digital lead at my school. I've done my best to make people aware of the LA guidelines and offered help and support where I...
just use AI and reword it a bit" oh dear, oh dearie dear. I was at a council InSet day when teachers were talking about letting students use ChatGPT as a source for assignment work. That was when I realised that the SQA message was not getting to teachers at all
I was in exactly your position in December last year. Our MAT had no AI policy, no training planned, and no guidelines on how to use AI responsibly.The switch for me happened when I heard that some teachers were telling students to "just use AI and reword it a bit" for their coursework, to which I contacted the CEO of our MAT and, instead of throwing my colleagues under the bus, I made the...
Policy Needs to Follow Culture, Not Lead ItOne of the most common mistakes I have seen and heard school administrators make is trying to solve technology (e.g. AI) challenges with a policy memo. They draft a document, distribute it at an all-school meeting, and assume the problem is handled.It rarely works.When I served as Dean of Curriculum and Instructional Technology at a n independent...
👏
Oh, I agree, Gareth! My mind started spinning when they told me they had done that! And I am coming from a library background, so both the privacy/legal piece and intellectual property piece are always at the forefront of my mind. I am hoping to, as Josh suggested, speak to the superintendent next week to make a case for more urgent communication to the staff. Even with no AI policy in place,...
It was a bit of a shock when I heard it, and even more shocking when I asked some of the students and they boldly admitted it! Thankfully, we are taking steps to educate everyone involved on the importance of using AI correctly (in line with Ofqual and JCQ advice, along with exam board specific regulations around using AI). I think it just solidified to me how important it is for us all to be...
I could not agree more.We finally had our very first meeting of our AI Policy Committee, which includes administrators, special educators, teachers, and students. Interestingly, no parents. But what bothered me the most was finding out that the superintendent has already written an AI Policy that is in subcommittee at School Committee. 🤯 Wait! What?!? Apparently, when it is all done, he will...
The same issue in NZ, and I think your first reaction makes a lot of sense. In situations like that, I rarely see a “bad teacher” problem. People are curious, and they want to do the right thing, and they are reaching for the nearest tool without clear guidance, shared expectations, or protected time to learn. That is exactly why I think schools need to respond with support before compliance....