Washington School District Leads the Way in Integrating A.I. into Classroom Learning
In Kelso, Washington, a small school district is taking the lead in integrating artificial intelligence into classroom learning. The district, with only 5,000 students, is proactively teaching students how to use A.I. responsibly and effectively.
At Carrolls Elementary, fourth and fifth-grade students in Mrs. Briem’s combined class are already using A.I. for various learning activities. During a recent visit from KATU, students were taught how to use A.I. for personalized book suggestions. “At this age, it’s really just trying to introduce them to the idea of A.I.,” Briem explained. “In the past, I was actually a little more hesitant to bring A.I. into the classroom, but I realized that this is their future and they’re going to be exposed to it.”
The Kelso district has developed guidelines for A.I. use, which are presented to students in sixth through twelfth grade. Brenda Sargent, who helped lead the A.I. advisory committee, noted that the district is “a few steps ahead” in terms of A.I. integration. “We presented some A.I. guidelines to our students; they actually all receive the same presentation and had to review our guidelines and sign off on them so that we had a guarantee that they understood there was no ‘Oh, I didn’t know I couldn’t use this,'” Sargent said.
While A.I. is introduced in elementary schools, it’s more commonly used by middle and high school students. Principal Lacey DeWeert emphasized the importance of keeping up with technology. “We knew our kids were already using it. That was a given. Which is why we recognized we had to get our staff some tools and some training to be able to use it within their classroom,” DeWeert explained.
The district has implemented a sliding scale for teachers to decide how much A.I. should be allowed for each assignment. Sargent noted that while there can be incidences of cheating, the district recommends that teachers “know your students, know your students’ writing. Get a baseline, because if there’s a student who’s writing at a certain level and all of a sudden they turn in an assignment that is leaps and bounds above that, then it’s time for a conversation.”
If a student does use A.I., they are required to cite it as a reference in their assignment. This approach to A.I. integration is not universal; some districts block A.I.-related sites on school-issued devices. However, Kelso made the decision to unblock these sites last fall, citing equity issues, while still allowing teachers to block them in class if needed.
Teacher reactions to A.I. integration have been mixed, with some being supportive and others resistant. DeWeert believes that teaching students to use A.I. responsibly will benefit them in the long run. “They’re going to go into a workforce that we have never experienced. We know they’re going to have to use this, and they’re already using it,” DeWeert said. “So now it’s like, ‘Hey, you could use this platform for this tool. You could use this platform for that tool.’ And exposing them to that before they leave us so that they’re ready to go and gain employment.”
