Tag Archives: school

Looking at AI and the future of schools

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There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to influence the way we do school in the very near future. I have been pondering what that influence will look like. What are the implications now and what will they be in just a few short years.

Now: AI is going to get messy. Unlike when Google and Wikipedia came out and we were dealing with plagiarism issues, AI writing is not Google-able, and there are two key issues with this: First, you can create assignments that are not Google-able, but you are much more limited in what you can create that is un-AI-able. That is to say, you can ask a question that isn’t easily answerable by Google search, but AI is quite imaginative and creative and can postulate things that a Google search can’t answer, and then share a coherent response. The second issue is that AI detectors are not evidence of cheating. If I find the exact source that was plagiarized, it’s easy to say that a student copied it, but if a detector says that something is 90% likely to be written by AI that doesn’t mean that it’s only 10% likely to be written by a person. For example, I could write that last sentence in 3 different ways and an AI detector would come up with 3 different percentages of likeliness that it is AI. Same sentence, different percentage of likelihood to be AI written, and all written by me.

So we are entering a messy stage of students choosing to use AI to do the work for them, or to help them do the work, or even to discuss that topic and argue with them so that they can come up with their own, better responses. We can all agree that the three uses I shared above are progressively ‘better’ use of AI, but again, all are using AI in some way. The question is, are we going to try to police this, or try to teach appropriate use at the appropriate time? And even when we do this, what do we do when we suspect misuse, but can’t prove it? Do we give full marks and move on? Do we challenge the student? What’s the best approach?

So we are in an era where it is more and more challenging to figure out when a student is misusing AI and we are further challenged with the burden of proof. Do we now start only marking things we see students do in supervised environments? That seems less than ideal. The obvious choice is to be explicit about expectations and to teach good use of AI, and not pretend like we can continue on and expect students not to use it.

The near future: I find the possible direction of use of AI in schools quite exciting to consider. Watch this short video of Sal Hahn and his son, Imran, working with an Open AI tool to solve a Math question without the AI giving away the answer.

When I see something like this video, made almost 6 month ago, I wonder, what’s going to be possible in another couple years? How much will an AI ‘know’ about a student’s approach to learning, about their challenges? About how best to entice learning specifically for each student? And then what is the teacher’s role?

I’m not worried about teachers being redundant, on the contrary, I’m excited about what’s possible in this now era. When 80% of the class is getting exactly the instruction they need to progress to a grade standard in a class on the required content, how much time does a teacher having during class time to meet with and support the other 20% of students who struggle? When a large part part of the curriculum is covered by AI, meeting and challenging students at their ideal points of challenge, and not a whole class moving at the class targeted needs, how much ‘extra’ time is available to do some really interesting experiments or projects? What can be done to take ideas from a course across multiple disciplines and to teach students how to make real-world connections with the work they are studying?

Students generally spend between 5 and 6 hours a day in class at school. If we are ‘covering’ what we need to with AI assistance in less than 3 hours, what does the rest of the time at school look like? Student directed inquiries based on their passions and interests? Real world community connections? Authentic leadership opportunities? Challenges and competitions that force them to be imaginative and creative? The options seem both exciting and endless.

The path from ‘now’ to ‘the near future’ is going to be messy. That said, I’m quite excited about seeing how the journey unfolds. While it won’t be a smooth ride, it will definitely be one that is both a great adventure and one that is headed to a pretty fantastic destination.

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Update: Inspired by my podcast conversation with Dean Shareski, here.

It’s Halloween

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For most people Halloween is a kid thing. Kids dress up, go to school, and go trick or treating in the evening. For educators Halloween doesn’t end in your teens. No, it means dressing up year after year after year.

I love seeing students come up with imaginative and elaborate costumes. But if I’m honest, I am a bit tired of dressing up every year. That said, I’ll do it and I’ll make the most of it. I’m not grumpy about it, it will be fun. But if I’m honest, I’m looking forward to not making the effort anymore when I hang up my hat and retire.

Still, the day brings joy when I see other people so excited about the day. I’ve seen shy kids come out of their shell, artistic kids truly express themselves, and some kids will take it to the limits and really ‘wow’ you.

Although I’m in a high school, almost all the students will be dressed up. And on that note, for those of you that see older, high school aged kids coming to your door tonight for trick or treat… let them be kids!

Please don’t comment, “Aren’t you a bit old for this!” Or anything like that. Are they dressed up? Did they knock on your door? Great! Let them be kids and give them some candy. What’s wrong with an 18 year old celebrating Halloween? Would you rather they were at a park setting off fireworks and underage drinking?

Halloween is one day a year when older kids just get to be kids. Let them celebrate without feeling judged. It doesn’t matter if a kid is 5 or 15, if their costume looks amazing, let them know. If they are playing along, you play along too. Let every kid enjoy Halloween.

‘True Student and Teacher Agency’ – Podcast

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A huge thank you to Dean Shareski, who interviewed me for ‘The Canadian – Ed Leadership Show’.

Here is the description and contents time stamps:

Principal Dave Truss of Inquiry Hub and Coquitlam Open Learning as he discusses revolutionary approaches in education, student agency, and personalized, student-centered learning environments. Gain insights into the challenges and triumphs of running innovative educational models that support self-directed, passionate learners. Explore the impact of technology and AI in modern classrooms, and learn about fostering both student and teacher autonomy for effective teaching. Hear personal reflections on the importance of mentors, lifelong learning habits, and discover local hiking treasures like Bunsen Lake.

00:00 The Drum Set Decision
00:59 Defining the Ideal School
01:40 Introducing Principal Dave Truss
03:01 A Day in the Life of Principal Truss
03:47 The Birth of Inquiry Hub
05:10 Student Projects and Independent Studies
06:14 Collaborative Learning and Student Agency
09:09 Challenges and Opportunities in Alternative Education
17:55 Teacher Autonomy and Professional Development
21:20 The Evolution of Innovation and Technology in Education
29:00 Reflecting on Teaching Challenges
29:10 Embracing Technology in Education
30:18 Student Presentation Skills
31:15 The Role of AI in Learning
32:14 Teacher Comfort Zones
33:29 Leadership and Technology Integration
39:31 Balancing Leadership and Management
44:51 Personal Reflections and Advice
47:03 Hobbies and Interests
51:28 Hidden Gems in Coquitlam

Here is Dean’s LinkedIn post description:

I’m very excited to share this episode with my long time friend and colleague Dave Truss. Dave is the principal at the Inquiry Hub and Online Learning schools in School District No. 43 (Coquitlam) What he and his team have created is pretty special. Shout outs to Dave Sands and Stephen Whiffin who he credits for mentoring and leading this work as well.

Full episodes here:
🔵Apple
🟢Spotify
🔴Youtube

Thanks for the conversation, Dean. 🙏

(Excerpt video clip on fostering agency, on LinkedIn.) 

Meeting face-to-face

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Today I’m headed to Surrey to meet with other principals in charge of Provincial Online Learning Schools. My commute is less than an hour, some of my counterparts from around the province had to fly or drive in last night to get to the meeting on time this morning. We will be meeting with a representative from the Ministry of Education in the morning, and also have a full agenda for the rest of the day.

In many ways I have more in common with these colleagues from other school districts than I do with most colleagues in my own district. Being a principal of an online school has very unique demands, policies, and challenges which make our jobs unique. We don’t fit in the box of a traditional school principals, and often when I come across a challenging situation it is these distant colleagues that I turn to for support or clarification.

When we meet as a group it is usually online. But today we connect face-to-face. I can’t express the value it has provided to connect with these principals in person. Over the years I’ve made some valuable friends, and gotten to know some amazing educators thanks to these meetings. I’ve built relationships that would have been much harder to make if we only ever met through a screen.

There is a lot of power in physically getting together for a meeting rather than just doing so online. As a principal of an online school, that’s an important thing to remember and reflect on.

Building Community

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It takes thought and intentional action to build community in a classroom or a school. The chances of it happening organically are small, and even if it does build this way, it is likely to be uneven. Community building takes effort, it takes vision or at least cooperation in a focused direction… And even then it isn’t guaranteed.

It’s easy for students to form small groups and these groups can be open and accepting or they can be closed and cold. The art of community building is creating scenarios or activities where students must work together outside of these naturally forming groups. But that’s just the first step. The next step is to ensure that these scenarios or activities are ones where these organized groups can and will find success working together.

The next step is around expectations. It’s about explicitly showing and helping groups work together through conflict. Whether students or adults, there are times when we need to work with people who are a bit challenging to work with. They can be bossy, lazy, distracted, distracting, and even annoying. Not everyone is easy to work with. How is conflict handled? Are groups left alone to sort it out for themselves? Or is problem solving both provided and explicitly taught?

In teacher organized groups, are roles clearly defined? This can be done by the group, not just the teacher, but division of roles in a group help to provide the group with guide rails. This increases individual accountability and reduces the opportunity for conflict. And when groups of people can find mutual success in a project, that helps to build community.

Common goals, common practices, high expectations about how we treat each other, and planned opportunities to share common positive experiences all contribute to fostering and building good community. It doesn’t happen on its own. And if there’s one more thing that can help build community it’s food. Opportunities to eat together and celebrate together enrich the community’s familiarity and collegiality. Expecting community to build without consciously working to develop it will usually end in a disappointing way. And while the effort to build community may not always be rewarding, it is much more likely that the effort is rewarded far more than just expecting community to build organically.

Put your own oxygen mask on first

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Arianna Huffington is 74 years old and she just recently started a new AI business. She started the Huffington Post at age 55 and sold it 6 years later for 315 million dollars. In this The Diary of a CEO podcast interview with Steven Bartlett she shares this gem of a story.

The moral of the story is simple: Leaders need to take care of themselves, and get enough sleep, in order to be at their best. She says, “All the science now makes it very clear that when we are depleted we are going to make bad decisions.”

Then quoting Jeff Bezos, “I sleep 8 hours a night… I’m judged by the quality of my decisions, not the quantity of my decisions.”

As the new school year begins, take this as a reminder to take care of yourself first, if you really want to take care of your staff and students. It’s not good enough to only exercise, and eat well, and get enough sleep when you are not busy. You owe it to yourself, those you serve, and your job, to treat yourself well. It’s not selfish to put on your oxygen mask first, it’s how you get enough air to take care of others.

Build good habits and take the time to care for yourself first, when you are busiest, and it will become very easy to do so all the time. You will benefit as a person, as a friend, as a partner, as a parent, as an employee, and as a leader. It starts with you taking care of you.

Pre-game Blahs

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School starts on Tuesday. The past couple weeks have been building up, and up, and the hype is real. I’m getting excited about the year ahead. I want great things for my school community, and I’m looking forward to a wonderful year.

But it’s still a couple days away and the hype-up has been too long. Today I just feel drained. I’m taking a rest day on my workouts after pushing hard for two days and having a hard grind of a walk scheduled for tomorrow morning. I have a few errands to do, (I’m sitting in my car writing this after doing one of them now), and honestly I just feel blah.

I know this will change and the excitement will hit me again starting tomorrow night and well into the day Tuesday, but I’m just going to accept today as a low-energy, low productivity day. I’ll just let the blahs play themselves out.

Scope and sequence

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As a principal of two very different schools, I juggle a lot of timelines and deadlines that are different for each school. My ‘regular’ school isn’t so regular, being very small and having year-long courses unlike the rest of the district high schools that have 2 semesters. My online school has thousands of part-time students, and 3 different funding periods compared to just one for all the other schools in the district. For that school, I have over 30 teachers in the 8 other high schools that have to meet different funding criteria for me compared to what they have to do for courses they teach in the high school… Everywhere I turn, I have timelines, expectations, and differentiated learning opportunities that are not the same in other schools.

As I approach retirement in the next few years, I realize that my position would be somewhat overwhelming to come into. This is true mostly around understanding the timing of everything needed to be done. The reality is that there are many people I know that could step into my job and do great things… but they would also feel like the first year was only about managing all the pieces and not about actually leading.

So, I’m starting the year with a focus on scope and sequence. It’s time for me to track all the timelines that for me are on autopilot, and I just get done. I’m going to lay out a year long plan for items and procedures that I normally just do, with a specific focus on the things that are not part of the usual processes that happen in other schools.

I enjoy the environments I’ve worked in with these two schools. There is a lot of opportunity for out-of-the-box thinking. With that comes some diverse needs and skills that really fit outside of ‘normal’. A detailed scope and sequence will help make the transition into this role much smoother than it would be without one.

First official day back

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I’m headed to our school board office this morning for our first admin meeting of the year. There are years when this day arrives and I sit in bewilderment wondering what happened to my summer? But this year is one of those years where I’ve felt like I’ve had a wonderful break and I’m ready for the new year.

My regular routine starts today. I’m not writing this at a random time of day, or squeezing my writing in right before bed (like last night). Rather, I’m up early, I’ve already meditated, and I’m getting on the treadmill as soon as I publish this. It feels good to be back to my routine.

The new year brings with it both excitement and trepidation. I always start the year with specific goals in mind, and I feel enthusiastic, yet apprehensive. The year always holds so much promise. New plans, new students, new and unexpected scenarios all lie ahead.

There is a lot of prep work to do, but no amount of prep makes you feel 100% prepared. Planning only gets you so far when you are dealing with so many people in different roles. You might be calm and ready, but others will be nervous and unpredictable. No matter how well planned you may be, unexpected things will happen.

Schools are places of growth and learning, and real learning doesn’t happen smoothly and with conformity. Things don’t always go as planned. Yet, that’s part of the excitement. The unknown, the unexpected, the surprises along the way, the connections you make, the solutions you work on, and the collaboration required, are all part of what makes this job exciting and unique.

It’s the first day back, and so a whole new adventure begins…

Year End Headspace

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I can’t escape it. The end of the school year always fills me with melancholy. I don’t mean melancholy defined as ‘sadness and depression’ but rather ‘pensive reflection or contemplation’. Whether I consider the year good or bad, great or average, it doesn’t matter, I still feel I should have done more. I measure not so much my success but rather I face the loss of opportunity to have accomplished even greater things: Better connections to students and teachers; more engagement with the learning in classrooms; better work/life balance; and even more time out of my office.

It was a good year. It was made especially good because last year was such a challenge with my health among other things that were emotionally draining. And despite it being a really good year this year in comparison to the last, the melancholy fills me. I contemplate what else I could have done. I don’t allow myself the satisfaction of the year being positive, and the year ends not in celebration but in contemplation.

So, I’ll wallow in this feeling for a while. I’ll consider the ‘could have beens’ and the ‘should have beens’, and I’ll sit with the lost opportunities for a bit, as I do my year-end cleanup. Then in the coming weeks I’ll be able to look back with a clearer mind, and more positive perspective on the school year that was. But that appreciation can’t seem to arrive until I’ve gone through this contemplative headspace. It’s a year end process that I seem to require myself to go through, and today is the day it has decided to hit me.