You’re better than AI.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Tools like Siri and Alexa have become commonplace. Yet when ChatGPT was made available to the general public in late 2022, educators everywhere considered the implications for their work. Nationwide, many schools, particularly K-12 schools, are still struggling with students seeing AI as little more than a tool for plagiarism. As regular early adopters of the latest teaching technologies and pedagogies, Watkinson’s private school faculty adopted a radically different mindset. English Department Chair Christina Bernbach says, “Our English teachers take every opportunity to teach the kids that as writers, they’re better than AI.”
Watkinson’s IT staff had seen the ChatGPT launch coming and had already been using our professional development Open Space sessions to consider the implications. Following the launch, all staff were trained on the effective use of ChatGPT. In spring of 2023, it was confirmed that one of the four professional learning strands — led by Bernbach and our Director of Academic Technology Tom Gromak — for the 2024-25 school year would be devoted to AI’s role in our lives and the life of the school, and discussing and helping the school to be thoughtful and transparent about our beliefs and practices as they evolve at the institutional and departmental/programmatic level.
Recently, Head of School Teri Schrader spoke with a group of prospective parents about this work.
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