How Taylor School District is teaching students how to use AI as a tool

TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — For students heading back to school soon, artificial intelligence is also making it’s way into the classroom. But how much AI should students be using, and how can schools make sure it’s a learning tool, not a way to cheat? I went to Taylor, where teachers and students are figuring out what AI looks like in the classroom, using it as a tool rather than a shortcut.

Watch Carli Petrus’ report below

How Taylor School District is teaching students how to use AI for the right reasons

It can write an essay, answer a question or even help with homework. The question now isn’t necessarily whether students will use AI: they already are.

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“I’m figuring it out,” said Rebecca. “I don’t think it’s bad but I don’t think it should take over the world or something.”

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“Like if we’re trying to do something about plants and I don’t know what photosynthesis is I will look it up and put it into my own words,” said Maggie, a fourth grader.

The question is whether schools can teach students how to use AI without letting it do the learning for them. Or, like Maggie says, making sure they’re putting the work in their own words. That’s something the Taylor School District and schools across Michigan are now figuring it out.

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Marlene Scott helps oversee curriculum for the district. She says students also have access to several AI programs, including one geared towards mental health.

“In terms of their own work-flow, managing their calendars and helping them on documents and presentations, all of our staff have access to use AI for that,” said Scott, Taylor’s Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Resilience. “They just click ‘I’m feeling okay today’ or ‘I’m not feeling okay’ and then our staff gets to monitor that and kind of proactively catch students that might not be feeling well that a general teacher might not see or hear from that student.”

Teacher Jessica Hatfield says one of her favorite AI programs to use in the classroom is called Snorkel.

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“Snorkel allows them to have conversations with the AI bot and they’re AI bot and they’re able to refine their thought process and so they’re getting immediate feedback and they’re not having to wait for days for a teacher to check the paper, check their writing,” Hatfield said.

Hatfield told me the technology also comes with another lesson; knowing when not to use it.

“Starting to have those conversations in 4th and 5th grade about let’s have appropriate use of those things so that when they hit middle school and when they’re struggling with things they know that there’s that there’s that relationship of yeah it can be supportive but there has to be a human connection as well,” Hatfield said.

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Karle Delo, a Senior AI Strategist for Michigan Virtual, says this isn’t just a Taylor conversation, as AI misuse can happen when students let the technology do the thinking for them.

“AI misuse could be students who are using AI to just do their work for them and offloading their thinking which is not what we want or using AI to just automate way too many things without that human judgement component in place,” Delo said.

Michigan Virtual has been partnering with the Michigan Department of Education to create statewide guidance for AI in K-12 schools. Delo and other AI strategists are also going into districts, helping educators figure out how to use the technology safely and responsibly.

“We’re encouraging schools to take a balanced approach where we educate and teach about the benefits, the risks, the limitations, how AI works, and when we should and shouldn’t use it, and we help schools create guidance around AI,” Delo said.

And all of this new technology can be overwhelming for parents, too.

“I have children of different ages, I have seen them use AI in their own school work,” Scott said.

Scott says that’s why open communication is so important.

“You know, those of us from older generations, spellcheck came out and that changed how people wrote papers and now AI is changing how people edit and revise their work and so, it’s just a matter of understanding that your thoughts and ideas are yours and AI is a tool just like a calculator would be or spellcheck and so, you have to use it appropriately like any other tool,” she told me.

And the state’s guidance also encourages districts to make AI part of their long-term planning, so, as the technology changes, schools can change with it.

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