The Ripple Effect: Generative AI Empowering School Leaders
Session notes from "The Ripple Effect: Generative AI Empowering School Leaders," presented by Mina Blazy, at UNITED: The National Conference on School Leadership.
What was the speaker’s best quote?
“I get that this will change the way that we look at education, but imagine what it would look like if we gave [students] access sooner.”
What were the top ideas from the session?
- Historically advantaged districts are the most likely to have already provided or plan to provide teacher training about AI; What might this mean for equity or access to student learning?
- Less attention is being given to student-facing policies. Leaders usually frame AI as a way to make teaching easier, not as a way to address inequity among students. However, if we do not assist students with AI, they will decide how they are going to use it.
- By using AI for leadership, instructional practice, and policy development, you can not only save yourself time but close equity gaps. You just need the right tools to do it.
What is one strategy that you will implement immediately?
Blazy provided a 12-week guide for how to start conversations about AI in your school district; this is something that I would like to review and use.
What is one strategy that will help you with instructional leadership?
Using generative AI to organize steps and create spreadsheets. Blazy demonstrated this by showing how to organize and download a chart about your morning routine. She also demonstrated how to adjust the reading level, change the length, and add emojis using advanced features.
What is one idea you want to learn more about?
How to create Chatbots for certain subjects as well as projects in ChatGPT that are geared toward specific long-term tasks.
I can’t wait to tell my teachers about this idea:
ChatGPT can help you learn a new language.
What are some relevant or surprising stats you learned?
- Disparities in exposure lead to long-term inequities for students and do not prepare them for the demands of the current world.
- Early exposure to generative AI for students can lead to increased academic preparation, digital literacy, and exposure to emerging tools.
Delaney Rosenberg is principal of Ellis School in Fremont, New Hampshire.
Read more session notes in the NAESP Conference Blog.
