Campfire Session — Running a Flint PD Session

Learn best practices for conducting effective professional development sessions on Flint AI platform integration for educators.

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

In this session, we share our tried-and-tested strategies for running successful Flint professional development workshops at your school or district. You'll get access to the same resources and facilitation techniques our team uses to help educators feel confident about integrating AI into their teaching. We cover everything from overcoming common resistance points to creating hands-on experiences that actually stick, so you can lead PD sessions that drive real adoption and excitement around AI in education.

This live session covered:

1. Suggestions for what to cover in initial PD for Flint
2. Tips for effective and inspirational PD sessions
3. Resources for sharing about Flint
4. A fellow school's PD and implementation story

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

Got more questions, comments, or feedback for this topic? Feel free to raise them within the Flint Community.

Join our next Campfire Session 🏕️

Subscribe to our events calendar to be notified when upcoming Campfire Sessions and other Flint events get scheduled.

See Events Calendar

Introduction • 00:00

• An introduction to the session is provided.

Ice-breaking news • 01:31

• Insights from articles on professional development are discussed. Emphasis is placed on collaborative learning and ongoing support.

Session design • 03:53

• Key topics to cover during an initial professional development session are outlined.
• The importance of ongoing education and teacher support is highlighted.

#1 - AI Literacy • 08:04

• A shared understanding of AI is emphasized. Establishing AI literacy and school policy is critical.
• Concerns about AI's impact on critical thinking are acknowledged. Strategies for effective AI implementation are discussed.

#2 - Customize to audience • 12:08

• The importance of customizing the audience for AI discussions is highlighted. Different approaches for various teacher groups are suggested.
• Methods of reflection and discussion in professional development are shared. Tools like Mentimeter for live surveys are recommended.
• The importance of mixed breakout groups during training sessions is emphasized. Different perspectives from various departments can enhance the use of Flint.
• A resource for comparing Flint with other educational tools is mentioned. A comparison chart and detailed analyses are available on Flint's website.

#3 - Learn by doing • 17:27

• Biggest "I wish we would have" when it came to asking schools who had done their PD already
• Giving teachers time to play in the platform was very important
• Activity templates are shared that help teachers get first-hand experience of how Flint works for students.

#4 - Avoid cognitive overload • 19:25

• Implementing AI isn't a single-day task.
• Teachers' different levels of understanding and comfort with AI should be taken into consideration.
• The importance of ongoing support for teachers is emphasized. Recurring bite-sized sessions are suggested for continuous learning.

#5 - Highlight all-stars • 21:49

• Recognition of enthusiastic teachers is discussed. Highlighting their efforts can inspire others and foster collaboration.
• Concerns about data privacy are addressed. Teachers are reassured about securely inputting student information into Flint.

Resources for sharing Flint • 27:13

• Free courses for teachers and students are discussed. The AI literacy course includes quizzes and certificates for completion.
• Flint's AI policy library is also highlighted as a useful resource for schools when starting their conversations about how they want AI to be implemented.
• Analytics tools for administrators are highlighted. Limitations of the analytics capabilities are acknowledged.
• Feedback on analytics needs is encouraged. The importance of community input for feature development is emphasized.
• Flint's Ultimate PD Deck is shown as well as the Public Library—both great resources for sharing about Flint and inspiring teachers new to Flint.
• Information about accessing support and resources was provided. The role of the AI helper accessible within the product named Fin was highlighted. Fin is trained on all the documentation within Flint's Help Center.
• The Flint Community is also highlighted as a place for educators to connect with one another.

Shareout about a school's PD journey • 40:54

• Tai Hart from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta shared her experience running various PD experiences for teachers in their lower school, especially. She shared a bunch of resources she has created for these efforts in this drive folder.
• A lunch and learn session was conducted. Participants were able to try out Flint activities.
• Flint activities were tailored for different grade levels. Teachers received links to engage with the activities during the session.
• Teachers expressed interest in creating decodable books using Flint. A new activity was developed to assist them in this process.
• A demonstration of lesson planning is conducted. Teachers engage in creating personalized content using the Flint platform.
• Real-time examples of AI flexibility are showcased. Teachers provide input on creating individualized worksheets for students.
• Feedback from faculty meetings indicates increased engagement. More teachers request assistance in developing activities with Flint.
• A grassroots approach to AI policy development is discussed. Teachers are actively requesting AI-infused lessons and resources.
• The importance of co-creation in educational activities is emphasized. Innovative activities have emerged from collaborative efforts with teachers.

Session wrap-up • 57:10

• Plans for future sessions on AI Literacy are shared. Feedback is encouraged for topics to cover in upcoming campfire sessions.

Additional shareout • 59:39

• Kate Hall from Episcopal High School in Houston shares some of their experience training teachers on AI and Flint.
• Teachers expressed feeling overwhelmed by new tools. Some educators who would benefit are resistant to change.
• Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of Flint in science subjects. Specific challenges with graphing capabilities were highlighted.
• A question about chat recovery in Flint was addressed. It was confirmed that flagged chats are saved for student safety.