While artificial intelligence has been a controversial topic in the eyes of the public, whether because of its role in cheating or its blatant plagiarism, Chelsea School District’s Director of Curriculum Instruction Michelle Hilla is introducing new ways for educators to integrate AI into the district’s teachings instead of stripping it away.
According to Hilla, artificial intelligence presents valuable new learning opportunities for students that will make their education more individualized.
“AI has the ability to [provide] really personalized instruction and meet students at their current level,” Hilla said. “There’s a lot of different opportunities to provide more of an equitable experience for our students, especially the students who need a little bit longer or a little bit more information, that may need text at a different level so that they can comprehend it.”
Hilla emphasized that giving students more learning opportunities and a better quality of education and introduction to artificial intelligence early on may give them a headstart in their career front.
“I want them to have that understanding of what it is and its limitations early on,” Hilla said. “We’re preparing them for jobs that we don’t even know exist yet.”
Despite her enthusiasm for the integration of AI into the school system, she mentioned struggles with allowing teachers to use AI tools to aid them in their instruction and recounted her experience at a professional development meeting with elementary teachers.
“There were definitely some teachers that [feel] like, ‘I can’t, this feels like cheating.’” Hilla said. “[But] it’s not cheating. You know, you’re using it as a tool. As a resource.”
She added that it takes a lot of prior knowledge to use AI effectively, which means that students and teachers alike will need to learn how to use it correctly too, so they can use it both well and appropriately.
“I have to have so much background knowledge to be able even to ask an appropriate question,” Hilla said. “You’ve got to have a lot of that foundational knowledge about what you’re trying to ask.”
Michelle Hilla remained confident that artificial intelligence can be a very useful tool in Chelsea School District and will continue to influence students long after their primary education.
“It’s something that we do have to embrace and understand and make sure that people feel comfortable with the ethics of using AI and what that looks like,” Hilla said.
As the Curriculum Director of Chelsea School District, Hilla continues to push for further education about AI and integration into the classroom setting as a resource.
“I do think that making sure that AI is available and the resources are available for all of our students are going to be important,” Hilla said.
