AI In Schools Problem-Solving Methodology
Schools offer a compelling case study for human-centric design. Here, the primary focus is the student, the key stakeholder. By viewing the educational environment through this lens, we can assess how truly human-centered our schools are.
Watch the video recording that describes this process here:
A significant aspect to consider is the ongoing debate, questioning, and legal challenges surrounding AI in education. Let’s delve into this topic.
The traditional approach often seen in schools involves leadership and administration identifying an interesting concept and then broadly implementing it across the entire school. This outdated method does not prioritize a human-centric perspective, which is essential today. Students are particularly vulnerable, having faced significant changes and pressures that make it challenging to be resilient or simply "deal with it" while navigating their world with minimal support.
Instead, we should embrace Design Thinking, which emphasizes placing students at the center of the process. We can foster a more effective approach by forming a dedicated team, utilizing data analytics, and allowing student needs to guide the changes. This human-centric strategy transforms the narrative, ensuring that students receive appropriate guidance and nurturing within a safe, growth-oriented environment. This is the key to establishing a positive culture of change.
Let’s begin this efficient process:
Engage in Design Thinking:
Begin by aligning all stakeholders, including student voices and input, to initiate the design thinking process. As your facilitator, I will assist you in crafting your vision, goals, and expected outcomes. We will also utilize the “Integrity Tool” to spark discussions that explore various perspectives on AI. This marks the start of forming a robust team essential for driving change.
Assessing the "As Is" Status:
Each school community has its unique characteristics, even within a single district. Therefore, I would focus on the students of a specific school. Our first step involves researching the current "As Is" status, prioritizing student performance, health and wellness, attendance, and feelings of comfort and safety. Both qualitative and quantitative assessments will be identified, developed, expedited, and analyzed, allowing us to explore various scopes.
Evaluating Student Workforce Readiness:
In terms of student performance, I would emphasize the mastery of vital skills necessary for the STEM industry, including:
Empathy
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving
Research
Evaluation
Ethics
Perspective
IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility)
Digital Citizenship
Identifying the NEED:
Once we gather and analyze the data, we can pinpoint gaps in student success. Are these gaps related to systems, processes, time, teaching, technology, etc.? Understanding these needs will guide us in implementing technology that effectively addresses them.
Consult with experts:
Technology sales people will always tell you the need their product serves. Get someone who knows the market and shop around for the best solution. Everytime I do this process, it is so fun, so enjoy it.
Do some more design thinking:
Now, we’ll create a phased implementation plan. Within this, we make sure that leadership is clear about the vision and has full buy-in. In the school environment, I believe in not only making sure we have leadership buy-in but also student, teacher, and family buy-in. It takes the village in the school environment, and all should be on the same page.
Phased Implementation:
We’ll do a phased implementation with a small test-study, possibly an advanced teacher/class. We’ll test out the AI and collect results. We’ll discuss as a team to do lessons learned and create improvement iterations. We’ll continue to grow in classes until we have a full implementation.
Ongoing Communication:
Throughout, communication is key, and transparency is the gold standard. Let the community know how you are doing in the focus group, what are some of the challenges, and also the successes.
Result = A Human-Centric Culture Shift & Growth:
As time passes, the product will be scaled throughout the school where it is needed and the school community will all participate in the new culture.
Design thinking led the way for the community to have the tools, awareness, empathy, and confidence to make this happen.
Conclusion & Next Steps:
As a last thought, this is not discussed in this post, but the “Integrity Tool” is a way for the school to create a philosophy of AI in their school, not only limited to a policy but also a culture of excellence. Stay tuned for more data on how design thinking, human-centered design, and the “Integrity Tool” is making waves in schools with empowerment and human-centered leadership, increasing student success.
