Making the Case for Task Augmentation with Generative AI

Part 3 of Applying a Response Framework

The Brief Case 📚→💼→📈→📊

If you have been following along with our series on Generative AI, you understand, relative to the topic, the importance of first getting two parts of your house in order: i.e., operations and policy. Space is now clear — at least theoretically — to think about the tasks that, daily, knit together the school day experience.

Tasks are performed by employees (administrators, teachers, and non-teaching staff) and by students. And when viewed alongside the potential of Generative AI, most tasks fall into three buckets.

• Leave the task as is.

• Augment the task with Generative AI out of necessity.

• Augment the task with Generative AI to make the most of an opportunity.

Before diving in, here’s a quick reminder of where we’ve been and where we’re going, relative to our Generative AI coverage.

1. School Operations: Determining any necessary operational changes can save money and time (or reduce exposure). [Part 1 of this series.]

2. Policies: New policies help to mitigate risk and create clarity for the workforce and community. [Part 2 of this series.]

3. Work Tasks: Individual work expectations can both help productivity and reduce confusion/concern in the face of change. [This edition.]

4. Employees: School pivots, whether quick or slow, are enacted by employees. It is therefore important for employees to understand the why behind operational, policy, and task changes, as well as the opportunities for review and refinement as these new plans hit a new reality. [Next edition.]

5. Students: Schools exist for the students; in crisis or opportunity, students deserve to be brought to a level of understanding that promotes their sense of comfort, belonging, safety, and development. [Next edition.]

6. Families: If an event is big enough to disrupt your school, the adults in your students’ lives are likely navigating uncertainty, as well. They will be better partners with the school and supporters of their children if they understand how the school is operating. [Next edition.]

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📚 The Learning Case for Task Augmentation with Generative AI

Teachers

Necessity: When creating assignments in the age of Generative AI, most teachers need to include explicit expectations around Generative AI use. The same goes for reviewing student work: what additional lens do you need to employ to ensure that any potential Generative AI use is in-line with school policies? We consider such attentiveness a necessity because it goes to the core of the student-teacher relationship. Can students trust teachers to clearly guide them rather than set them up for “gotcha” moments? Can teachers trust students to properly cite their sources and continue to practice educational good faith relative to their classroom output?

Hey AI tool, 

Here is our school's current language about academic honesty/integrity.

[copy/paste policy]

Given the current capabilities of AI, what should we make more explicit to students in order to foster an environment of flexibility and trust while also establishing boundaries that students need?