Professional Development Day Cultivates Lifelong Learners

On February 18, the faculty and staff engaged in an In-Service Day – a day filled with learning, collaboration, and innovation!  

The morning session, “Reflect, Recognize & Respond: Educators Challenging Antisemitism,” was run by Anti-Defamation League (ADL) facilitators, a critical seminar as from 2019 to 2023, there has been a 670% rise in antisemitism. Founded in 1913, the ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. The program goals, according to the ADL, were to explore and apply a framework for learning to challenge antisemitism, create a learning environment conducive to exploring Jewish identity, and build the capacity to recognize and address antisemitic biases, behaviors, and incidents.

This interactive anti-bias learning experience started with the ADL’s definition of antisemitism, which provided a meaningful jumping-off point for discussion. The facilitators discussed the myths, tropes, and roots of antisemitism and Holocaust denialism. Then, the ADL facilitators divided the staff into small groups and assigned each member to read a page on the various aspects of Judaism.  For instance, the group learned that Judaism is not a race but a religion practiced by people of many different races and ethnicities. The Jewish people have diverse origins. Another topic included the denominations of Judaism, from the orthodox to conservative to reform. Many in the group were surprised to learn that of the monotheistic religions like Christianity and Islam, Judaism does proselytize to call people into the faith.

The facilitators provided several case studies, including how the teachers would confront swastika graffiti in the school. Would they remove the offensive symbol, immediately discuss its hateful significance with the students, or inform the administration? The scenarios provided fruitful discussions among the participants, and in many cases, the group agreed that all the actions provided should occur simultaneously. 

Following the morning session, the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Rich Mutts said to the faculty and staff, “Your willingness to engage in these conversations is invaluable as we work toward a more inclusive and thoughtful KO community.”

In the afternoon, the teachers selected two generative AI workshops to attend. The topics included AI Tools to Create and Manipulate Images, Eduaide: Helping You Create Material to Meet Your Needs, The Art of the Ask: Crafting Effective AI Prompts for Educators, Harnessing the Power of AI to Create a Scaffolded or Self-Paced Classroom, and Using AI for Assessment and Feedback.

These sessions were designed to give the faculty practical, interactive experiences with AI tools that can support teaching, administrative tasks, and student engagement. Photography teacher Greg Scranton led one workshop on AI-generated images, video, and sound using standalone web-based applications: Adobe Firefly, recraft.ai, LumaLabs: Dream, and fal.ai. The attendees enjoyed experimenting with the platforms, concocting surreal images, or placing historical figures in unexpected scenarios. In all cases, the more detailed and visual your instructions to AI, the more exact the final image is.

Upper School history teacher Gene Cassidy conducted a highly practical workshop for teachers on Eduaid.AI. Created by teachers for teachers, according to their website, “Eduaide.Ai is a professional workspace for teachers to efficiently design lessons, generate instructional materials, and construct learning environments grounded in cognitive science and sound pedagogy.” By inputting the grade level, proficiency, and topic, Eduaide can design high-quality, differentiated lessons. This platform in no way replaces the teacher’s job, and the teachers were cautioned not to take the information verbatim. Rather, Eduaide can serve as an impactful tool to generate ideas.

Each workshop provided real-world applications, guided experimentation, and time to develop strategies for integrating AI into the faculty’s work. Whether new to AI or already experimenting with it, these sessions helped the faculty think critically and creatively about its role in education.