Part Two: The Importance of Working Together to Address AI in Our Schools

Welcome to Part Two of my blogging series on how to navigate AI in the BC high-school context. Part One focused on the "how to" of facilitating discussions on both the ethics and applications of AI technology in a high-school setting. This second post will outline what to consider when working to establish a culture of AI in your school.

First off, I believe varying perspectives on AI can be a strength for a school staff. It’s neither ideal nor realistic for all teachers to hold parallel beliefs on AI. So, rather than disempowering those with conservative takes on AI by discouraging their views, I believe we should empower all to share their thinking, which will in turn broaden a school's collective understanding. Educational leaders shouldn't necessarily strive for universality of perspective but rather universality of urgency. To meet the challenge that AI presents, we'll need all hands on deck.

I recently held a department meeting where a colleague shared some of their own apprehensions and questions about AI. Their willingness to be vulnerable liberated everyone to do the same. We openly shared our own questions, concerns, and struggles with AI. We become collectively stronger when we welcome all voices into our professional discourse.

I view the emergence of AI as the greatest challenge of my teaching career. Due to the exponential growth of AI technology, it's Sisyphean to face it alone. In fact, any impact we can enact individually is wholly inadequate in the face of such a profound challenge. But, by working together, we can nurture a school environment that at least has a fighting chance.

John Hattie’s influential meta-analysis on effect size cites “collective teacher efficacy” as the most impactful factor on student achievement. With that in mind, we, as educators, must believe that by working together we can meet the learning needs of our students, whatever they entail. In 2025, those learning needs involve building our students' ability to navigate a world driven by AI. As educators, our collective efficacy will be born of collective capacity, which doesn't occur spontaneously. 

One method for building teacher capacity is to facilitate learning opportunities for all teachers to participate in. In the new year, I plan to, along with my frequent collaborators Lindsay Anderson and Hannah Van Os, host a staff book club focusing on AI and education. By reading the book, we will learn strategies for integrating AI into our existing practices. However, the greatest value may come from the accompanying conversations. It’s often said that the most potent professional development comes from the teacher down the hall. What kind of professional development could result from timely discussions with a dozen motivated colleagues?

Book clubs are just one strategy for building collective capacity. As effective as they can be, they're limited as many colleagues won’t be able to attend due to life’s other obligations. So, professional learning should be embedded between the bells, too. I would encourage administrators to empower department heads, teacher librarians, or other passionate teachers to facilitate additional learning and conversation whenever possible: discuss AI in department meetings, at lunch meetings, on department days—basically, whenever the opportunity arises. AI should also become a priority for district's ProD committees, which can facilitate more formalized professional learning, such as guided sessions, expert speakers, or round table discussions.

Once we, as educators, become more acquainted with AI’s potential impact on students’ learning and our own teaching, we must work together to craft frameworks for AI integration that meet the learning needs of our students while being responsive to any given staff’s diversity of perspectives and the Ministry of Education's guiding documents on the subject. After all, the effectiveness of a framework diminishes greatly if it’s not widely adopted.

Stay tuned for Part 3 when I'll introduce and discuss the current iteration of my framework.