Campfire Session — Summer Learning and Administration

Discussion of using Flint to support summer learning and administrative processes like placement testing and admissions.

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

School may not be in session during the summer, but that definitely doesn't mean that educators and students aren't busy! This session had the goal of covering some use cases for Flint over the summer—everything from supporting student learning and recall to supporting administrative tasks like placement and admissions.

This campfire covered:

1. Summer learning activities in Flint
2. Differentiating practice
3. Activities for admissions
4. Flint for placement testing

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.

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Introduction • 00:00

• An overview of the campfire topics is provided. The discussion includes various summer use cases from promoting summer reading and administrative uses of Flint.

Ice-breaking news • 01:59

• Insights from a meta-analysis on AI in education are shared. Five key recommendations for integrating AI into teaching are highlighted.

• The recommendations included many approaches already employed by schools using Flint, including applying AI to a variety of uses, scaffolding AI with educational frameworks, and integrating AI flexibly as a tutor, teaching assistant, etc.

Summer learning • 04:45

• The summer learning activities are introduced. Flint can facilitate additional practice in various subjects.

• Flint's features are explained in detail. The platform can act as a teaching assistant for students.

• Examples of prompts for creating activities are provided. Context about students and teaching material content upload are emphasized for better interaction.

• A demonstration of the creation of a Flint summer reading activity is provided. The ability to simulate a session and preview activities is highlighted.

• Engagement strategies for summer reading activities are discussed. Humor and interactive elements are suggested to motivate students.

• Methods for sharing activities with students are explained. Options include copying links or adding specific students' emails for notifications.

• Concerns about student interactions with Flint are discussed. It is clarified that administrators can see flagged messages, but teachers cannot.

Differentiating summer support • 15:08

• Differentiated support using Flint is introduced. Various activities can be customized for students based on their individual needs.

• Examples of activity customization for language practice are provided. Activities can be duplicated and modified for specific skills like speaking or listening.

• Tips for activity creation were shared. Specificity in how Flint assists students was emphasized.

• Adjusting Flint's helpfulness was discussed. Different methods for testing within and outside the preview were suggested.

• The importance of tailoring activities for students at different levels was highlighted. Options for students to indicate their reading levels were proposed.

Summer administrative uses • 23:18

• AI's role in admissions and placement is discussed.

• Various strategies for evaluating students are suggested.

• Specific examples of using Flint for interviews are provided. A mock school admissions interview activity is demonstrated.

• Placement testing examples were shared for discussion. The importance of summarizing student answers was emphasized.

• Features allowing students to skip questions were confirmed. The ability to review answers before submission was also discussed.

• The option to automatically grade assessments was mentioned. Enhancements for personalized feedback were suggested.

• A custom activity for language placement tests is discussed. The importance of reducing teacher workload during summer is highlighted.

• Flint's ability to provide audio feedback for language practice is explained. The need for grading rubrics in English to enhance student understanding is emphasized.

• Discussion on creating new workspaces in Flint. A limit of 80 seats for each free workspace is mentioned.

Admin shareout • 39:09

• Jeffrey Smith's placement testing process at Stony Brook School is highlighted. Hundreds of hours of testing are conducted over the summer.

• Immediate feedback from placement tests is discussed. Conversations with students and parents can occur afterward.

• A template of the math placement test is shared. The process of generating test questions using AI is explained.

• Details on uploading content and graphics are provided. The transition from Formative to Flint is discussed.

• An AI-generated Latin placement test was created. This streamlined the testing process significantly.

• The French placement exam was successfully implemented. Feedback from families improved customer service.

• AI tools were used to create and update syllabi. This saved teachers a considerable amount of time.

• A course registration chatbot has been utilized by families. Positive feedback has been received from approximately 50 students.

• Images for geometry tests are uploaded by the school. Training the AI to avoid alterations has been emphasized.

• Contact information is exchanged for further questions. Enthusiasm for the discussed innovations is expressed.

• A discussion about using AI tools for scheduling occurs. ChatGPT is mentioned as a tool that is saving time.

Conclusion • 50:15

• Lulu Gao shares updates on the teacher AI literacy course. The second level of the course is expected to launch next week.

• Lulu also shares QR codes for the Campfire Calendar and new Flint Community forum.