With technology at the palm of your hand, you typically don’t hesitate to look up the answer to a question — and it’s often just a click away. For students, is there anything stopping them from doing the same? How...
Some liken the use of ChatGPT to generate answers from prompts to using a calculator to solve a knotty math problem. Both, proponents argue, are a time saving tool that expands what is possible. Adoption of the technology has been...
Many school districts spent the last academic year trying to seal students off from artificial intelligence. Now, they’re racing to establish AI-friendly classrooms as a new school year kicks off. They’ve crafted rules for AI use among students and trained...
Artificial intelligence (AI) encompasses a broad set of tools developed to perform tasks that have historically required human intelligence. The new generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are not programmed with a specific set of instructions; rather, they are trained on sets of data and algorithms that guide how they respond to prompts. We are increasingly using a range of AI tools—such as autopopulate suggestions, navigation systems, facial recognition on phones, and ChatGPT—in many aspects of our lives. Because of the prevalence and power of these tools, their rapid development, and their potential to be truly disruptive—in positive and negative ways—it is critical that school districts develop policies, guidelines, and supports for the productive use of AI in schools. Later in this commentary, we discuss many of the short-term positives and negatives of using AI in schools. The greatest impact of AI, however, is how it can transform teachers’ roles and student learning.
A few weeks ago, we took a look at generative AI’s potential to change teaching and learning on college campuses around the country. This week, I spoke with experts and educators in K-12 to see what they think about these...
During the 2022–23 school year, artificial intelligence (AI) evolved from an experimental technology few had heard of into readily available technology that has become widely used by educators and students. There are many ways educators can use AI that may positively revolutionize education to benefit classroom instruction, to support data use and analysis, and to aid in decision-making. The biggest potential upsides of AI for education will be accompanied by major disruptions, however, and districts will need time for thoughtful consideration to avoid some of the worst possible pitfalls. This commentary focuses not on how best to harness the potential of AI in education over the long term but instead on the urgent need for districts to respond to student use of AI. We argue that during summer 2023, districts should adopt policies for the 2023–24 school year that help students to engage with AI in productive ways and decrease the risk of AI-related chaos due to society’s inability to detect inappropriate AI use.
Distance learning in the COVID-19 context provides a unique challenge in that, in many cases, neither families nor educators chose to engage in this model of instruction, it is an opportunity provided due to circumstances beyond our control. It is...
The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences has awarded a $3 million research grant to a University of California, Davis-led research team to assess pandemic recovery efforts undertaken by the California Community Colleges. The goal of this three-year...
One of the important lessons of the pandemic is that virtual learning is here to stay, but it has a lot of room for improvement. And teachers, principals, and district leaders should be thinking hard about how to make remote...
Most educators and parents would agree that the sweeping virtual instruction thrown together overnight at the beginning of the pandemic wasn’t nearly as effective as in-person learning for most students. So, does that mean K–12 educators and policymakers should write...
The Hoover Education Success Initiative (HESI) presented a six-part webinar series this fall that explored how public education can improve moving forward given the ongoing disruption of in-person instruction caused by COVID-19-inspired restrictions, as well as foundations of the system...
With Fall fast approaching, parents and teachers alike are wondering if this school year will bring with it some normalcy. But with over three-quarters of school districts offering remote learning options, many are worried the pitfalls of the past year...
As we move into fall and the beginning of a new school year, districts are facing myriad decisions, the consequences of which will determine how quickly and effectively they are able to recover from the effects of the pandemic and move education into a new era. This PACE commentary focuses on the kinds of decisions districts and unions are confronting together as well as on the ways in which collaborative labor–management relations can contribute to a stronger education system designed to meet all students’ needs.
Strict school discipline increases the chances of adult arrests. The research confirms the school-to-prison pipeline, a term used to highlight the link between exclusionary school discipline and incarceration. Black and Hispanic individuals, who are more likely to be suspended or...
As we reopen schools and return to classrooms with a new infusion of desperately needed funding, I hope we all realize that “back to normal” won’t work for all students. Let’s take advantage of this exciting opportunity to reimagine and...
California will require that all teachers and school staff be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19, becoming the first state to impose such measures ahead of the new school year. The move comes as students return to classrooms around the...
It is not uncommon for unions to vote that they have “no confidence” in their leaders. That just happened, for example, within the Sacramento County Public Defender’s office. There is a growing constituency coming to the defense of Jorge Aguilar...
In preparing for the next school year, California state policymakers must set clear statewide expectations for teaching, learning, and student support, regardless of whether instruction is online or in person. This spring, local school districts scrambled to adapt to COVID-19...
Before schools nationwide moved millions of students from classroom seats to screens, educators at Highline Public Schools in South King County wanted to expand online learning. Back then, Highline saw an opportunity: Online education might be good for students who...
Adapting in a Time of Crisis. Labor-management collaboration is not an absence of conflict or disagreement. It is the ability to work together, lifting up diverse experiences and perspectives, and persevering until we address the issue at hand. Even in...
Summer learning provides a renewed opportunity to invite stakeholders to the table, including teachers, parents, and community partners, to collaborate as key designers of a balanced approach to student learning. A blend of academics, social interaction, and enrichment is key...
More than eight out of every 10 California public school campuses have already reopened. It looks increasingly likely that in the fall, the state will require schools to offer full-time, in-person instruction. Headlines like these make this next fact easy to...
This week a new EdWeek podcast discusses the merits of creating a $500 college savings account for all low-income public school students, and poses this question to PACE faculty director Christopher Edley, Jr., the incoming dean of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of...
The year of distance learning has been tough on all students. And though academic loss might be front-of-mind for parents and teachers, experts say an over-emphasis on test scores at this point is a mistake. Learning loss matters and must...