As artificial intelligence evolves, Minneapolis and Saint Paul schools are raising questions around what student learning should look like because of it. Following ChatGPT’s debut in fall 2022, teachers noticed a rise in AI-written assignments, leading educators to suggest larger conversations be had about the future of AI and academic integrity.
STARTING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
Phil Wacker has taken part in many of the discussions about AI as assistant director in the office of teaching and learning at Saint Paul Public Schools. His position is to support high schools with things like curriculum and professional development. He says since AI is evolving quickly and constantly, they need to have a continuous dialogue about protocol.
“Both our students and our teachers are learning a really powerful tool that’s only been around for a short amount of time,” Wacker said.
As part of SPPS education, middle school students begin their AI-learning with short, general lessons about it in their advisory and foundations class. They tackle questions about what it is, how to detect it and how to use it safely and ethically. In high school, students begin using AI in parts of their curriculum. They use Google Gemini for Education, a model of generative AI designed for students and educators.
Along with learning how to use AI, Wacker explained SPPS teaches students how to use it as a tool, what biases it may possess and what impact it has on the world around it.
Wacker said the hope is for students to ask questions like “how do we use AI as a teaching and learning tool to learn the content? But also, how do we teach kids about how AI is showing up more globally or ethnically?”
Wacker emphasized that AI is a tool, not a solution.
“Our goal is to just support our staff – that AI doesn’t replace the humans in the room,” Wacker said. “Our teachers are the experts who use AI as a tool, but it’s never a replacement for learning or teaching.”
Another big question SPPS faces is what adjustments should be made to student assessment in a world with AI that will support student learning, critical thinking and creativity. “We need to assess students in a way that it’s not Google-able,” Wacker said. “Because if a student can Google it, what are we really assessing?”
These types of questions will continue to be asked as AI evolves in the future.
WHAT ABOUT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY?
Clare Forstie serves as Dean of Academic Effectiveness and Innovation at St. Paul College (SPC), and similarly to Wacker, she has been involved in many of the conversations about what curriculum modifications and further education is needed for students and faculty to be successful in light of AI.
SPC holds a similar perspective to SPPS on the topic of AI in education. Before AI came into the picture for the schools, they already had protocols for student responsibilities and academic integrity. These guidelines are still used when encountering students misusing AI. Wacker explained that if an SPPS student was caught breaking school policy and using AI to bully a classmate, for example, the same accountability protocol would be used for that student as would be if AI hadn’t been the instrument of bullying.
“We’re also in the process of revising our academic integrity policy to be even clearer about AI,” Forstie said. “AI impacts technology policy, data privacy policies, so we’re not just looking at academic integrity, we’re looking more broadly.”
SPC also recognizes that AI is a new technology, and faculty needs adequate resources in order to understand AI and teach it to students at the higher education level. Starting this fall, a certificate will be offered to faculty for completing a three-part series focused on AI basics, AI and academic integrity, and innovative use of AI.
“One area that we’re really trying to think carefully about is support for staff,” Forstie said. “We know that staff are using AI for a variety of job functions, and we know that there’s a need there for some more training.”
Wacker and Forstie both agree that the most important aspect to consider in the dialogue surrounding AI in schools is how to make sure students understand AI and are given the tools to think critically without it.
FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES WITH AI
Gabriel Pass teaches both robotics and drone technology to high school students as part of Minneapolis Public Schools’ (MPS) Career and Technical Education. CTE is a program that allows students to gain high school and college credit through hands-on application in courses with a focus on providing exposure to potential career fields.
Taken concurrently, robotics and drone technology offer students the opportunity to learn about AI through studying robots and exploring aviation. The courses were developed by MPS in response to AI’s gaining momentum. Looking to the future, Pass believes as AI evolves, it may replace many jobs humans currently hold. Because of this, the courses aim to provide students with a pathway into a career in AI and robotics which would likely still be practical even if other jobs get replaced.
“Minneapolis is doing what it needs to do to place [future career] opportunities in the hands of Minneapolis students,” Pass said.
AI AND ART
Erik Brandt works as a graphic design professor and chair of the design department at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). His department developed a student policy around AI use that was later adopted by the school as a whole. This statement essentially prohibits use of AI on any projects unless approved by a professor.
There is no battle with or policing of MCAD students on this policy, Brandt said. Students are hyper-aware of environmental impacts of AI, so they limit themselves to it already. He added that students desire to make things themselves and be proud of their work, so faculty has less to worry about when it comes to wrongful use of AI.
“[This generation is] really, really interested in telling their own stories,” Brandt said. “They want that authorship and independence.”
Looking to the future, Brandt also acknowledged that if the next generation of students develops AI literacy from a younger age, their mindsets and skillsets may look differently than those of current MCAD students.
“You have to ask the question… what are [future students] going to take for granted and how [will] we teach them the basics?” Brandt said.
These educators acknowledge that the future of AI is uncertain, and conversations around how schools should respond will be ongoing and frequent.
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