AI Week - Professional Development (PD) for AI in Education

CoGrader’s AI Week was a 3 day event that focused on teaching teachers how to use AI in their own workflows, and with students from start to end.

The goal of this training is to provide the necessary tools to start using AI in a way that’s safe and ethical, with focus on easing the workload on teachers, and improving students outcomes.

This page contains all the resources we shared during the event, and the recordings of the videos.

Day 1 - AI for admin tasks

Summary: Get started using AI to solve administrative tasks. Learn how to use ChatGPT effectively as a teacher.

Webinar recording

Get the slides

Basic Framework for Prompt Writing for Generative AI

This section introduces a structured approach to creating effective prompts for Generative AI, encapsulated in the acronym “PREP”:

1. P - Create a clear Prompt: Formulate a concise and direct prompt.
2. R - Give it a Role: Assigning a specific role to the AI for tailored responses.
3. E - Be Explicit with your instructions: Provide detailed guidelines for clarity.
4. P - Provide Parameters: Setting parameters like task, role, audience, tone, context, and format output.

Examples of AI Applications in Education:

Expanding on the Parent Curriculum email:

Scenario: Write an email to parents about what their children will learn in the upcoming month.

Prompt: “Using a [helpful] tone, write an email to [parents] letting them know about what we are going to learn [next month]. Unit objectives: [COPY AND PASTE FROM YOUR CURRICULUM].”

Purpose: The aim is to create an informative and engaging email that communicates the learning objectives for the next month to parents.

Process:

1. Tone Setting: The prompt specifies a ‘helpful’ tone, guiding the AI to craft the email in a supportive and informative manner.
2. Audience Identification: The email is directed towards parents, which means the language and content should be accessible and engaging for a non-specialist audience.
3. Content Specification: The prompt includes a directive to incorporate the actual learning objectives from the curriculum, ensuring that the email is both relevant and specific to the upcoming educational content.

AI’s Role: ChatGPT or a similar AI tool takes this prompt and generates an email draft that aligns with these specifications.

Example AI Response: “Dear Parents,

We hope this message finds you well. As we look forward to next month, we are excited to share the learning objectives that will guide our students’ journey. [Insert specific learning objectives from the curriculum here].

Our focus will be on [briefly elaborate on key topics or skills]. We believe these objectives will not only enhance our students’ knowledge but also develop their [mention skills like critical thinking, creativity, etc.].

We encourage you to discuss these topics with your children as they progress through these lessons. Your support and involvement are invaluable to their learning experience.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s education.

Warm regards, [Your Name]”

See more on page 18 of the presentation.

💡 Note: This example demonstrates how Generative AI can be utilized to streamline communication tasks, ensuring that messages are clear, purposeful, and tailored to the audience’s needs. The AI-generated response should always be reviewed and possibly edited to ensure it aligns perfectly with the specific context and requirements of the school and curriculum.

Additional resources

Find more details from page 27 of the presentation.

MagicSchool AI Resources

• For All Tech Levels: Offers a variety of resources catering to different technological proficiencies.
• Unit/Lesson Plan Creation: Assists in developing comprehensive unit and lesson plans.
• Lesson Content Ideas: Provides innovative ideas for lesson content.
• Accommodation Suggestions: Offers suggestions for accommodating diverse student needs.
• Behavior Resources: Resources for managing and understanding student behavior.
• Subscription Information: Details on additional resources for educators, including free webinars, a prompt library, and curriculum resources.

Adobe Express

• Generative AI Tools for Students: Adobe Express provides tools that are tailored for a K-12 environment.

• Features:

  • No violation of copyright in image generation.
  • Built for K-12-appropriate environments.
  • Encourages creativity and innovation among students.

AI Resources for Teachers

• AI Blog Posts and Resources from Ditch That Textbook: Offers a collection of blog posts and resources related to AI in education.
• 100 Prompts for Teachers to Ask ChatGPT from Teacher Tech Blog: A resource providing a wide range of prompts for educators to use with ChatGPT.
• Curipod: A tool for creating interactive slide presentations using generative AI.
• MagicSchoolAI: Provides generative AI content and resources designed specifically for educators.
• Considerations in a World of AI - Cheating and Plagiarism: Addresses the challenges of cheating and plagiarism in the context of AI.
• AI Conversations: Handling False Positives for Educators from Turnitin: Discusses how educators can deal with false positives in AI-generated content.
• Statement from the IB about ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Assessment and Education: An official statement regarding the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in educational assessments.
• ChatGPT and Beyond: How to Handle AI in Schools from Commonsense Media: Guidance on integrating AI tools in educational settings.
• Bringing AI to School: Tips for School Leaders from ISTE: Offers tips and strategies for school leaders to effectively incorporate AI into their schools.

Additional Resources and Further Reading

• AI and Education: Guidance for Policy-Makers from UNESCO: Provides guidance for policymakers on integrating AI into educational strategies.
• AI for Educators by Matt Miller: A resource book offering insights into AI applications in education.
• AI Infused Classroom by Holly Clark: Focuses on infusing AI into classroom settings.
• Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning from the Office of Educational Technology: Discusses the impact of AI on the future of education.
• Educator Considerations for ChatGPT from OpenAI: Offers considerations for educators using ChatGPT.
• Guidance on AI Detection and Why We’re Disabling Turnitin’s AI Detector from Vanderbilt University: Explores the reasons behind disabling Turnitin’s AI detector.
• Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence from UNESCO: Provides ethical guidelines for the use of AI.
• The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education by Dan Fitzpatrick, Amanda Fox, and Brad Weinstein: A comprehensive guide to AI in education.

Day 2 - AI for grading and lesson planning

Summary: Use AI to give timely and specific feedback and plan lessons.

Webinar recording

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Practical Applications of AI in Education

CoGrader in Action

CoGrader significantly impacts the educational feedback loop by:

1. Enhancing Timely Feedback: It addresses the challenges of providing quick and efficient feedback in educational settings.
2. Aiding in Planning and Differentiation: CoGrader is used for effectively planning leveled groups and individualized lessons, helping in more targeted teaching strategies.
3. Formative Assessment Efficiency: It allows for quick assessment of essay drafts, improving formative assessment practices and aiding in a better work-life balance for educators.
4. Ease of Use: Described as user-friendly, CoGrader simplifies the integration of AI tools into the teaching workflow, akin to interacting with a teaching assistant.

Try CoGrader for free at cograder.com.

Curipod for Interactive Lessons

1. Interactive Lesson Design: Creating engaging, AI-driven interactive lessons.
2. Personalized Feedback: Offering real-time, tailored feedback to students.
3. Diverse Engagement Tools: Featuring polls, word clouds, and other interactive elements.
4. Instant Lesson and Writing Feedback: Quick creation of lessons and providing feedback for writing tasks.

ChatGPT for Content Creation

• Generates educational content and discussions.
• Aids in creating diverse instructional materials.

How to write your rubric with AI

Other ideas to use with AI

Unit/Lesson Planning

• Create Drafts of Scheduling: Using AI to draft and organize schedules for lessons.
• Chunking: Implementing AI to break down content into manageable segments for better understanding.
• Anticipating Student Misconceptions: AI helps in predicting and addressing potential misunderstandings students might have.
• Rubric Creation: Utilizing AI for developing assessment rubrics.
• Differentiated Resources: AI aids in creating resources tailored to diverse learning needs.
• Your Own Teaching Coach: AI as a personal assistant for teaching strategies and guidance.

Content Creation

• Student Examples: Generating examples for students’ reference.
• Mentor Texts: AI-assisted creation of texts that serve as guides or models.
• Discussion Questions: Formulating questions to facilitate classroom discussions.
• Assessment Questions: Designing questions for assessments with the help of AI.
• Vocabulary Resources: Creating resources to enhance students’ vocabulary.
• A Story or Dialogue About a Topic: AI can craft narratives or dialogues about specific topics to aid learning.

Day 3 - AI in the classroom

Summary: Use AI to give timely and specific feedback and plan lessons.

Webinar recording

Get the slides

Thinking about the use of AI in the classroom

1. How can AI tools be utilized in the classroom to enhance students’ independence and creativity? This question is derived from the guiding questions about using AI in education, focusing on how AI tools can foster student autonomy and creative thinking.
2. What strategies can educators adopt to integrate AI responsibly into lesson design while maintaining a positive classroom culture? This question combines the aspects of responsible AI use, lesson design, and the impact on classroom culture, asking for practical methods to balance these elements in an educational setting.
3. What are the key considerations for educators in gaining support from parents, administrators, and district policies when implementing AI in the classroom? This question addresses the importance of obtaining approval and support from various stakeholders for using AI in education.

💡 For more questions to reflect on, go to slide 9 of the presentation.

Teaching Students about AI

Common Sense Education Eight 20-minute lessons with a blend of videos and discussion

Link to Lesson Plans

aiEDU 300+ 5 minutes AI-related food for thought questions divided by school subject

Link to Slides

AI for Education 4 ready to go 90-minute lesson plans with materials

Link to Lessons

Day of AI by MIT Units is about AI for elementary, middle, and high school. The day of AI is May 13, 2024!

Link to Curriculum

Top 10 Ways to Use AI and ChatGPT in the Classroom

A curated list of meaningful, creative, and fun tools! Check our ideas here.

Want more? Check out the CoGrader Facebook group for all the ideas we crowdsourced!

Logistics of AI

1. Your Student-to-AI Ratio: Utilize group work to manage the number of screens you need to monitor. A ratio of one AI tool for every four students is ideal for group activities. Alternatively, a one-to-one ratio allows you to let students lead their learning, especially if your school has screen monitoring tools.
2. Designing Your First AI-Enhanced Lesson: It is recommended to keep your initial AI-enhanced lesson brief. This approach helps you and your students gradually adapt to the integration of AI tools in your teaching environment.
3. Getting Principal Approval: Ensure that your use of AI aligns with your school’s policies. For example, seek your principal’s feedback on lessons where you plan to use AI to enhance critical thinking and confirm alignment with the school’s policies.

Resources to help you with logistics:

• AI Anchor Charts for levels of use, acknowledgment and MLA citation

• Co-creating an AI Classroom Policy Lesson with students from AI for Education

• Toolkit for AI Policy- includes a parent letter, school AI policies, Academic Integrity, and resources on ethical AI use. All come in editable Google Docs!

  • Sample school’s AI policy from Peninsula School District, which includes resources and parent FAQs.

• How to ask your principal?

  “I’d love your feedback on an upcoming lesson where I want to use AI to push critical thinking. I want to make sure I’m in line with our school’s policies. I already have a draft of a parent letter and set of classroom norms I’d love your thoughts on.”

  • Have Chat GPT write your draft email!