Looking to the future, district creates artificial intelligence guide

Kentwood — While the world of robots, chatbots and “automated everything” can produce fear and anxiety in many people, KPS is focusing on AI as a tool that can provide countless new opportunities if used responsibly and with guidance.

The thought behind the district’s recently published Artificial Intelligence Guide, now in use, is to integrate AI into teaching and learning in ways that prepare students for the future, said Brooke Storms, the district’s instructional technology coordinator.

“We recognize AI is rapidly transforming the world, including education and the workplaces that our students are headed to,” Storms said. “We want to ensure we are maximizing the benefits.

“AI, like any tool, can be used in helpful and harmful ways. We want to make sure we are preparing our kids for the AI skills and literacy they need to be able to use.”

The guide, a first for the district, provides a framework for using AI in teaching and learning while also considering challenges and opportunities. It sets parameters around AI usage in Kentwood schools, with sections on addressing responsible student use and academic integrity; how AI can support student learning; and enhancing teacher practice and effective teacher use. 

The guide was developed through a yearlong process, beginning last fall with a survey of staff about needs and concerns related to AI. The committee putting it together consisted of teachers across grade levels, administrators and Kent ISD education technology consultants who used survey results to shape the conversation. 

An AI Tutor

Teachers weighed in with their personal experiences using AI as well. Pinewood Middle School teacher Mike Garland served on both the AI guide committee and in a pilot program using Khanmigo with his eighth-grade English Language Arts students as a way to test AI integration.

“It was almost like having a tutor or teacher’s assistant in the classroom,” he said of the AI tool developed by Khan Academy. “While I could see what they were doing, I didn’t have to peer over every student’s shoulder to check their work and offer help,” 

With the tool, students received immediate feedback, suggestions and ideas related to their writing, but Khanmigo didn’t do the work for them. Students also used the program to generate ideas for thesis statements and set targeted goals for their work. 

Garland said it was a good experience — both for him as a teacher and for his students.

“AI is an incredibly useful tool, but one we’ve only scratched the surface of using, especially in classrooms,” he said.

As for Khanmigo: “I would absolutely use it again in a second,” he said. 

‘These things are always evolving’

East Kentwood English teacher and AI guide committee member Jessica Darwin regularly uses AI in her classroom, where students use tools like Writable to support their writing. She said she uses it to meet the instructional needs of all students, including special education students and English language learners.

She’s also helped other teachers use AI to help create lesson plans, write objectives, build rubrics and create images.

“AI is a great tool and it’s going to be part of many careers,” she said. “Calculators didn’t kill math, and AI isn’t going to kill student thinking and writing.”

Darwin said she wanted to serve on the committee to be part of the conversation on using AI well in the district.

“I think we put together a really great guide. It’s very thorough for educators and students. It’s going to be a great bit of guidance to transition us into this new world of education,” she said.

 ‘AI is an incredibly useful tool, but one we’ve only scratched the surface of using, especially in classrooms.’

teacher Mike Garland

Darwin sees great potential in AI usage district-wide.

“I urge educators to be open-minded and know these things are always evolving and it’s part of progress, and to not be afraid,” she said. “It’s not going to replace teachers. As qualified teachers and experts in our field, we still need to vet the output from AI.”

Data and Guidance

Backing up Storms’ statement that proper AI instruction prepares students for future jobs, the new guide includes data from the article, “AI at Work is Here, Now Comes the Hard Part” from Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index. It states that “66% of business leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills, and 71% would prefer hiring a less experienced candidate with AI fluency over a more experienced one without it.”

The guide also addresses security, privacy and safety to ensure teachers never share personal or student information with AI tools and that all usage must be in compliance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. It also includes a list of privacy and safety checks.

Guidance is also included on age-appropriate AI use for kindergarten through high school and for various subject areas. Led by their teachers, young students will learn that AI is not a person, while high-schoolers will learn to use the tools thoughtfully and independently.

There’s also a student use agreement for students to sign.

Storms emphasized that the guide is an evolving document that will need revisions and additions as technology changes.

“My hope is that teachers embrace this; we invite their ideas to the table,” she said, noting that teachers will receive professional development opportunities as the district looks into purchasing AI tools.

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