Using AI to Strengthen K-12 School Leadership

What do you write? Turn over common writing tasks to AI for documents that meet your communication needs. Learn key techniques for getting AI to produce writing that fits your needs.

Your task in this lesson: Let AI recreate a document you already produced, and compare results (and time!).

If you already have written your draft, let AI edit and revise it for you. This is the hard part of writing, and AI can do it well.

I'll share useful strategies for improving your writing with AI.

Your task: Select a document you recently created, and let AI recommend and make improvements.

Data analysis is key to raising student achievement. You need to know what your data reveal to determine what needs to improve.

As we start using AI for data analysis, we will

1. look at a example of data analysis for generating a simple analysis report,

2. explore techniques for common data analysis needs, and

3. use AI to pull out detailed, targeted findings for student sub populations.

Your task: Select and try an analysis from the provided (or your own!) data.

A deeper dive into data. We use AI for 3 data analysis tasks:

1. explore multi-year data,

2. establish priority needs based on historical data
   (including achievement, behavioral, and "red flags"), and

3. generate strategies informed by the data.

Here, we start turning data into strategic actions!

Your task: Pull sub-group findings from the provided (or your own!) two-year achievement data.

You get comments on surveys, discussions, and meetings, but generating themes and coding the data are complicated and time consuming. OR you could use AI!

In this section, we look at using AI to

1. analyze qualitative data,

2. generate themes, summaries, and representative comments, and

3. identify outliers.

You got results. Now you need to understand them and share with your stakeholders.

In this section, we use AI to

1. summarize findings,

2. explain results simply with common language, and

3. create visualizations (graphs, etc.).

SMART goals bridge data analysis and instructional leadership.

Here we learn techniques for generating an actionable SMART goal:

1. what you provide,

2. what you ask for, and

3. how to automate the process.

Tips for generating and using potential strategies based on the goals to support instructional leadership.

Classroom observations can be generic, or you can create and use customized tools to target specific objectives, approaches, and professional development strategies.

We'll use AI to easily create a variety of tools for meaningful, purposeful observations and (most importantly) provide valuable feedback.

Lesson plan reviews--with in-depth feedback--are nearly impossible without AI. They take too much time!

1. Here, we'll look at 3 techniques to make this process simple and fast for you, and meaningful and instructive for the teachers:
   Reviews for completeness, pedagogy, detail, and effectiveness,

2. Reviews that target specific instructional approaches, and

3. Reviews that quantify changes in lesson plan quality.

Three strategies that help you facilitate teacher professional development, whether to improve overall instructional efficacy or to strengthen implementation of specific teaching approaches:

1. Generating Socratic questions for reflective and collaborative discussion,

2. Designing interactive learning activities for teachers,

3. Planning and facilitating effective teacher PD for deep learning and growth.

Easy way to perform one challenging task: Creating duty rosters that address teachers' strengths and availability.

(This short lesson is more school management than instructional leadership, but it does help you demonstrate understanding of each teacher's needs.)

Here we identify essential sections of a strategic plan and use them to guide our work ahead. What are the components of strategic plans? What do we need to work on?

You have data and your goals. Let's frame the work ahead to turn your needs into actionable plans.

Two ways to use AI to help generate options for strategies, interventions, and policies that will help you reach your goal:

1. Use AI to foster collaborative research

2. Use AI to propose ideas for consideration

We'll look techniques for both approaches.

Now that you have some options, we use AI to

1. explore the benefits and consequences of various options,

2. understand benefits, risks, and effects on other school functions, and

3. identify strategies to mitigate consequences of the selected approaches.

Overall, in this lesson, we will use techniques to strengthen and inform your decision-making process.

An approach for collaborating with the AI, but here the AI creates the initial draft of the strategic plan. Let the AI take the bulk of the work off your shoulders.

What we will learn:

1. Essential components of a strategic planning prompt.

2. "Feeding" the AI with your prior work.

3. Ensuring the plan meets your needs.

After this process, the "fun" part begins: working with your team on fine-tuning.

Benefit of this approach: A huge time saver that gives you a great starting point for discussion, revision (if needed) and working with your stakeholders.

An approach for collaborating with the AI, but here the AI coaches you through the process of putting the plan together, step-by-step. Let the AI guide you, make recommendations, and keep you on track for a full strategic plan that is entirely yours.

What we will learn:

1. The "cyclical" process for using the results of prior discussion.

2. The prompt for step-by-step development of your strategic plan.

3. AI guidance and recommendations for content...with you in complete charge.

4. Collaborating with the AI on reviewing your plan.

5. Ensuring the plan is ready to present and review with stakeholders.

Benefit of this approach: A huge time saver for creating the final draft of the plan with 100% your own content.

Four simple ways to use AI for learning learn new information.

1. Quickly access information about a topic

2. Review resources, documents, and research;

3. Fine-tune information specific to your needs; and

4. Get step-by-step instructions for new tasks.

Three quick and easy ways to explore new concepts, develop a shared understanding among your staff, and promote new ideas with confidence.

1. Get actionable understanding of concepts with a customized level of depth;

2. Deconstruct concepts into related components with mind maps; and

3. Learn how new ideas apply to your role and what they look like when implemented.

2 Quick strategies to test your knowledge, find any gaps, and round out your expertise!

A review of major concerns stakeholders and educator have regarding the use of AI in schools. Each of these will inform policy-level decision making and determine whether or not AI is being used appropriately to enhance the teaching and learning process.

Purpose, structure and questions for AI policy making

Major principles for ensuring appropriate AI use

2 Essential guidance resources

What is "cheating" in the age of AI?

Strategies to mitigate or prevent cheating.

Pedagogical approach to promote appropriate AI use through focusing on learning.

Wrapping up: A quick look at what it's all about--why we bother with AI.

Something neat: What will AI "look like" in the future, and what it means for us.