Metro school district balancing usefulness and challenges of AI this school year

WAUKEE, Iowa — As students and teachers return to classrooms this year, they face a new tool and potential adversary — artificial intelligence.

The Waukee Community School District is confronting the challenge head-on. The district has created an AI plan, outlining appropriate and inappropriate uses of artificial intelligence for students and teachers. Classrooms have “AI Stoplight” posters to help students use AI in a responsible way.

Some teachers, like Adam Werley, are choosing to allow students to use AI for activities like brainstorming and analyzing papers as well as other literature.

Limits are placed on AI use, though. If students do use AI for a project or paper, they’re encouraged to cite it.

Werley says that AI is a powerful tool, and students should learn to use such a tool. Its use is essentially an inevitability. However, he also emphasizes the importance of students still taking part in the learning process.

“Especially with high school kids we still want that process piece to be important. And so just, yes, it can help you zip straight to the end, but what are we doing, what’s the point? I think that’s where a lot of people still feel really challenged and where we need to, I think, reevaluate: do we care more about product or do we care about the process that leads to the product?”

Adam Werley, Waukee Northwest Teacher

You can read Waukee Community School District’s AI plan here .

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