Hopkins Faculty Explore Artificial Intelligence and its Impact on Education

 
Hopkins Faculty are exploring the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impacts and benefits on education. Below are three updates featuring Hopkins science teacher Jennifer Stauffer and others. 

Stauffer and Stewart on AI Integration at ISTE Conference

In late June 2024, Jen Stauffer and fellow Hopkins faculty member Phillip Stewart delivered a presentation at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Denver, CO. Entitled AI as Ally: Interactive Design Lab for AI-Proof Science Assignments, Stauffer and Stewart spoke to an audience of more than 150 educators, school leaders, and policy experts, offering practical and tangible solutions for using AI responsibly in the classroom.Their presentation not only sparked valuable discussions but also provided educators with the tools to navigate and leverage AI effectively in their science classrooms.

Stauffer and Stewart also received feedback from audience members that while AI is currently a hot topic in education, few are discussing how to use it in actionable ways. 

“Our talk bridged that gap in the sciences,” Stewart remarked. 

Hopkins and Moses Brown Educators Collaborate on AI Decision Tree, Gaining National Attention in Education

During the summer of 2024, Jennifer Stauffer co-published a piece in Edutopia, a trusted source and social network shining a spotlight on what works in education. Stauffer’s piece, which she co-authored with Moses Brown History teacher Jon Gold, was written to help students ask vital questions about their AI use and to reflect on how it benefits learning. Entitled A Decision Tree to Guide Student AI Use, the content is already being used and shared by other educators across the country.


“I recently found out that Virginia Tech’s teaching program is using it as a resource. It’s also received a lot of social media attention,” Stauffer said. 

Additionally, this summer, Hopkins held its second annual conference on Harnessing AI for Educators (HopCon). Guest presenter and facilitator Eric Hudson referenced Stauffer and Gold’s article in his piece, Back to School with AI: A Playlist for Educators. Eric Hudson is a strategic advisor who helps schools understand and adapt to an evolving educational landscape. 

Gold and Stauffer met at HopCon in June of 2023 and decided to collaborate on creating the AI Decision Tree, based on ideas they shared during breakout groups. They have been thought partners ever since, regularly communicating about the field of AI in education and their leadership roles related to AI at their respective schools, with Stauffer serving as the co-head of Hopkins' AI Working Group and Gold as the clerk of Moses Brown’s AI Group.

Stauffer Highlights AI’s Role in Education at Yale’s Sterling Chemistry Laboratory Centennial

Jennifer Stauffer also took part in the centennial celebration of the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory at Yale University on May 11. With several hundred attendees present in person and others joining virtually via Zoom, Stauffer participated in a keynote panel discussion entitled AI's Impact on Chemistry Research and Teaching, alongside three other speakers.


Stauffer’s presentation featured an AI-generated video address delivered by an avatar she created of Josiah Willard Gibbs, an 1854 HGS alum and Yale alum and professor. She used this address to illustrate the benefits and pitfalls of AI technology in education. The video, which included a photo of Gibbs from his Hopkins grammar school days, is also displayed on the third floor of the Malone Science Building.
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    • From Left: Michelle Lynn Gill, Tech Lead On Drug Discovery AI at NVIDIA. '06 Yale Chem PhD; Victor Batista, Kirkwood Professor of Quantum Chemistry at Yale (and Stauffer's former professor); Jen Stauffer, Science Teacher and co-head of AI Working Group at Hopkins School. '02 Yale Chem MS; Jenny Frederick, Director of Yale's Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning and Provost for Academic Initiatives. '99 Yale Chem PhD

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