WORCESTER—Worcester Public Schools on Friday welcomed a group of 30 school principals and assistant principals from Denmark to explore the district’s approach to integrating artificial intelligence into classroom learning.
After a panel discussion, the visiting educators toured three private schools and visited the Harvard Graduate School of Education as part of a trip organized by Innovation Centre Denmark Boston.
“One of the significant shifts facing educators today is the increasing presence of AI technologies in classrooms,” the Centre wrote in a LinkedIn post. “As these tools become more prevalent, it’s essential for educators to comprehend both the challenges and opportunities they bring.”
“Artificial intelligence can be scary, but it is here and beginning to rapidly change the lives of our scholars,” said WPS Superintendent Rachel H. Monárrez, Ph.D. in a statement. “It will have an impact on their future college and career experiences. It is our responsibility as educators to prepare our scholars for a world that will look much different after graduation.”
This year, WPS introduced the “Spark Team,” comprising educators at the forefront of embracing “future-ready” teaching and learning methods.
Led by coaches from the district’s Educational Technology Department and overseen by Sarah Kyriazis, Ed.D., Principal of Wawecus Road Elementary School, the Spark Team collaborates to share innovative practices with fellow colleagues.
According to the announcement, during the panel discussion, 15 educators shared examples of how they used artificial intelligence in classroom settings, such as:
- Kindergarten students at Union Hill Elementary working in small groups to prompt AI image generation using text-to-speech in Canva.
- A 4th-grade lesson focused on the fundamentals of machine learning and AI.
- A Burncoat Middle School lesson about racial bias in AI, sharing how it can misidentify people of color and use job hiring algorithms that favor males.
- A Doherty High School English class that used AI picture generation to allow students to visualize what they were writing about. AI was also used to expand sentence structure and encourage students to develop deeper vocabulary.
- A graphics design class at Worcester Technical High School, where students used AI to develop more robust business plans and presentations.
The Spark Team training aligns with the district’s fresh “Vision of a Learner” framework, which aims to impart future-ready skills and attitudes to students in the system. Artificial intelligence is among the myriad innovative practices detailed in the framework, alongside robotics and coding challenges, digital storytelling, online research and data analysis, outdoor education, STEAM integration (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), fostering curiosity, and employing data visualization tools.
The WPS educators who participated in the presentation and panel discussion include:
- Keefe Bangert, assistant director of educational technology
- Lori Backlin, Grade 2 teacher, Wawecus Road Elementary School
- Nicole Carlson, graphics teacher, Worcester Technical High School
- Hayden Champagne, educational technology coach
- Edward Chen, educational technology coach
- Julie Cincotta, focused instructional coach, Burncoat High School
- Annie Cohn, educational technology coach
- Kam Dealey, history teacher, North High School
- Michelle Duclos, English teacher, Doherty Memorial High School
- Bethany Emery, educational technology coach
- Allison Houlihan, assistant principal, South High Community School
- Sarah Kyriazis, Ed.D., director of educational technology and principal of Wawecus Road Elementary School
- Kim McLaughlin, kindergarten teacher, Union Hill Elementary School
- Sarah Sanders, media specialist teacher, Burncoat Middle School
- Mackenzie Satilino, grade 4 teacher, City View Elementary School
- John Staley, principal, Doherty Memorial High School
- Drew Weymouth, principal, Worcester Technical High School
Send news, tips and comments to Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
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