By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Rim of the World Unified School District held its welcome back breakfast meeting for all of its teachers and staff members on Monday, the morning before school began on Tuesday, Aug. 12. The buffet breakfast included breakfast rolls, muffins, fresh fruits and choice of yogurts and drinks.
As the staff checked in they got raffle tickets for the many drawings held all morning long, with gifts from supporting businesses and organizations, many of which also had tables with giveaways and information for the employees. Rim District Superintendent Dr. Paul Sevillano welcomed everyone, thanked the PTA for breakfast and all they do to support students, year-round, and introduced the school district trustees.
On the tables in Rim High’s gym were papers on the district’s strategic actions, reflecting on the goals they had for last year and how they were accomplished; the focus for this school year, including developing a positive districtwide culture, getting Measure E passed and now building trust in spending those funds with fiscal responsibility; and increasing student learning, with multilayers of support and expanding partnerships through the communities.
Numerous times throughout the morning, the district’s core beliefs were displayed and discussed. The district wants to use “impactful actions” by all employees to “unlock student potential,” then, “align actions” to “intentionally prioritize student needs.” By following these core beliefs, the district believes the students will learn better and thrive at Rim schools.
Each school principal, including the new Rim High principal, introduced their new staff members.
This is the first full year that Rim will work with Cal State San Bernardino with its STEM field research and will increase that involvement by at least 5 percent, yearly, with the goal for student improvement in knowledge and involvement.
Jo Bonita Rains of the Rim of the World Educational Foundation passed out a paper of the many benefits that Rim Ed has offered the schools and teachers since 1983. The list included 25 separate programs and classroom sets of equipment they funded this past year, plus the CTE classes and AVID programs they support in the district, which lead to student success.
Stephen J. Aguilar, an assistant professor at USC, spoke on “finding the place for artificial intelligence (AI) in your professional life and in the classroom.”
New technology is always something to be both curious and suspicious about, he said. AI will be in the future workforce but, at this time, does not create, only reflects what it has been taught. He gave several examples where AI was not even close to correct, when responding to a request.
Chat GBT is another technology; where to use it and how to use it is the next challenge, said Aguilar. AI is like a book – it is a tool in the tool box with information for the student to apply, but where and how is part of the teacher’s role. When thinking of digital technology, the questions are what data to use and where to apply it; to have it become an efficient technology is the challenge.
They did a few short table workshops and discussions on the values and ethics of using AI, what learning it should support and discussed concerns about AI. They examined how and when students should use AI tools, and when its use is appropriate.
Then the groups decided how to identify and address overreliance on AI by students. They drafted key policy points to using AI in the classroom. The discussion groups developed efficiency ideas for using AI and engagement ideas for using AI, using “best practice guidelines” while being sure AI is being used responsibly and efficiently, while assuring AI is being used as a tool for student learning not used as a crutch.
“The aim of AI use is human-centered. Start with a human question or task and use AI to assist and end with human reflection and decision making” were the directions left for teachers about AI by Aguilar. They were left with a QR code for an educational site for teachers to further explore and with suggestions for refining their AI educational skills.
The teachers expressed excitement as the new school year begins and left to finish preparing the classrooms for the students’ arrival the next day
0 Comments