NPS Leads the Way in Integrating AI into the Classroom

Northville Public Schools is pioneering the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into its classrooms, with teachers piloting AI programs to enhance student engagement and learning. Students, from high school to elementary levels, are learning to use AI effectively, recognizing its benefits and limitations. The district's forward-thinking approach ensures students are prepared for a future where AI plays a crucial role in education and beyond.

Show Transcript

Northville Public Schools is at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into our classrooms. Across the district, several teachers are piloting different AI programs, teaching students how to use these tools responsibly. I joined Aaron Baughman's like exploring group for staff and we've been exposed to 3 that I think will be very valuable for students. One is Magic School, the other one AI School, and the other one is DIFFIT, which is more based on teachers but you can use it with your students. I think giving them the opportunity and learning how to use it responsibly, I think is going to be a great tool for them in the future. Nancy Smith, a business teacher at Northville High School, uses AI to enhance student engagement and monitor their progress. So every space we set up or anything I give them it creates a teacher area so I can see their engagement level, I can see if they are participating and I can see their responses and I can say well maybe they are struggling in math, maybe I can reach out to their math teacher or somebody to explain to them and maybe a little more help or go to seminar for a little bit more help. So it's another way for me to monitor my students. Recently we've been doing a lesson on how to use AI effectively and proficiently, so this whole week we've been focusing on what type of tutors or questions we can ask the AI in order to get information that we can use in a good way instead of just using it to not aid us but kind of do it for us. Middle School teachers like Jen Lawson are also seeing the benefits of AI in their classrooms. It's allowed me to target my teaching in a way I never thought was possible. I can now spend more time working with the students one-on-one. Over the summer, for maybe the first time in my teaching career, I became exceptionally proactive with technology. Just create a policy that we could implement on day one, a procedure, a way to integrate AI in a responsible way hopefully kind of ahead of the curve instead of being reactive to it, create something that would work for kids, work for educators, and kind of pilot that program. Jason Brooks color coded all projects to alert the students the level of AI usage, red indicating no AI usage on that assignment, but green gives the students the go-ahead to use AI. However, the students quickly learned that AI isn't always accurate. It was weird at first, I was surprised that it wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be because when I just told it to write me an essay it did not write anything good but I think if you use it like right and use it for the information instead of the actual like the real essay part then it's good to use but if you're using it to really write the paper it's not helpful. In elementary school, AI is being introduced as a playful yet educational tool. They know that we're just kind of playing with it. They know that it's a new technology, they know that part of the project is just learning how to interact with the AI. That's a big part of the project. It's impacted how I learn, it's made projects so much easier with with like...to allow to ask like someone a question and it answers your question back but it also doesn't just give you the answer, you also have to use your knowledge to also ask the question like if it tells you 20% of something, you'd have to tell it what is 20% and it'll explain to you how to find 20% of a number. We need to teach the kids how to use it, how to decipher it, how to look at it good and bad and really use it to their advantage because it will always be here. AI in education is here to stay and we are proud to lead the way. For Northville Public Schools, I'm Katie Rork, the district communication specialist.

Northville Public Schools is pioneering the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into its classrooms, with several teachers across the district piloting different AI programs to teach students how to use these tools responsibly. The district's innovative approach aims to enhance student engagement and monitor their progress, preparing them for the future.

Nancy Smith, a business teacher at Northville High School, is actively involved in this initiative. She joined Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum Aaron Baughman's exploring group for staff, where they identified three valuable AI programs. Smith believes these tools will be invaluable for students.

"I think giving them the opportunity and learning how to use it responsibly is going to be a great tool for them in the future," Smith explained. She has already seen positive results, using AI to set up teacher areas that monitor student engagement, participation, and responses. "It's another way for me to monitor my students and provide additional help where needed," she added.

Students like Brooklyn, a 10th grader at Northville High School, are also benefiting from these AI lessons. "Recently we've been doing a lesson on how to use AI effectively and proficiently," Brooklyn shared. "We’ve been focusing on what type of tutors or questions we can ask the AI to get information that we can use in a good way instead of just using it to not aid us, but kind of do it for us."

Middle school teachers are also embracing AI. Jen Lawson, a math teacher at Hillside Middle School, has found that AI allows her to target her teaching in unprecedented ways. "I can now spend more time working with those students one-on-one," Lawson said.

English teacher Jason Brooks, also at Hillside Middle School, has taken a proactive approach to integrating AI. Over the summer, he developed a policy and procedure to integrate AI responsibly from the first day of school. Brooks has color-coded projects to indicate the level of AI usage, with red indicating no AI usage and green allowing AI. This approach has helped students understand when and how to use AI appropriately.

Mckenzie, an 8th grader at Hillside Middle School, shared her experience with AI. "It was weird at first, I was surprised that it wasn't as great as I thought it was going to be. When I just told it to write me an essay, it did not write anything good. But I think if you use it right and use it for the information instead of the actual real essay part, then it's good to use. But if you're using it to really write the paper, it's not helpful."

In elementary schools, AI is being introduced as a playful yet educational tool. Markus Hartnett, a 4th grade teacher at Amerman Elementary, explained, "They know that we're just kind of playing with it. They know that it's a new technology, and part of the project is just learning how to interact with the AI."

Isaac, a 4th grader at Amerman, noted how AI has impacted his learning. "It's made projects so much easier. You can ask it a question and it answers back, but it also doesn't just give you the answer. You also have to use your knowledge to ask the right question."

Lawson emphasized the importance of teaching students how to use AI effectively. "We need to teach the kids how to use it, how to decipher it, how to look at it good and bad, and really use it to their advantage because it will always be here."

Northville Public Schools is not only staying ahead of the curve by integrating AI into its curriculum but also ensuring that students are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in the future. AI in education is here to stay, and Northville is proud to lead the way.