Professional Development

                AI Tools in the Classroom: School‑Based Pro‑D, January 23^rd 2026, 8:30–11:30 a.m.

Event Description

This school wide professional development session was held at W.L. Seaton Secondary which introduced teachers to practical applications of AI. The foundation of the session was a hand held guide named “Educational AI tools.” The workshop focused on how teachers can use AI to streamline everyday tasks, improve learning supports, organize materials, differentiate readings for diverse learners (including ELL), generate rubrics, create writing samples and strengthen report‑card comments. This session was designed for all the staff at Seaton Secondary and emphasized how AI is a tool that can innovate our practice by saving time on the laptop so we can spend more time interacting with our students and helping them one on one.

Personal Reaction

I felt apprehensive about AI and unsure whether it had a meaningful place in teaching. By the end of the session my perspective had completely shifted. I was shown practical tools that can make my job easier, especially around differentiating instruction, creating rubrics, and preparing writing samples. I was surprised by how quickly these tools could free up time for more one‑on‑one support with students. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt impressed, excited, and optimistic about what AI can offer. This session helped me see AI not as something to be wary of, but as something that can strengthen my practice and reduce unnecessary workload which proved to be incredibly valuable to me.

Connection to Professional Practice

During the workshop, I observed several applications of AI that tie directly into my day‑to‑day professional responsibilities. The most immediate connection was how these tools can support differentiated instruction, especially adjusting reading levels for ELL students or learners who need simplified text. Normally, creating multiple versions of an assignment is time‑consuming, but the session showed how quickly AI can generate accessible variations without losing the core learning target. I also saw how AI can streamline assessment practices, particularly through generating rubrics and producing clear writing exemplars. These tasks often take a significant amount of preparation time and seeing them completed in minutes. Overall, everything we explored had obvious and practical relevance to the classroom and reinforced how AI can enhance instructional planning and responsive teaching.

Artifact 1: Paragraph Exemplar and Template.

My grade 8 class has been reading “The Outsiders” and learning about how to write a paragraph. The paragraph structure they have learned involves a topic sentence, 3 supporting ideas, details to support the ideas and a concluding sentence. For this assignment, students had to write a paragraph about a character in the story and explain three- character traits. The following artifact is a paragraph written by AI and a template they can use to record their ideas.

Topic Sentence:
Cherry Valance shows that she is kind, brave, and honest in the first three chapters of The Outsiders.

Supporting Idea 1: Kind

• Treats Ponyboy and Johnny with respect even though they are Greasers.
• Talks to them like friends and shares her thoughts about life on both sides.

Supporting Idea 2: Brave

• Stands up to Dally when he is rude.
• Does not back down even though Dally is tough.

Supporting Idea 3: Honest

• Speaks her mind about Socs and Greasers.
• Admits that Socs have problems too and says things are rough all over.

Closing Sentence:
Cherry’s kindness, bravery, and honesty make her an important and relatable character in the story.

Cherry Valance shows that she is kind, brave, and honest in the first three chapters of The Outsiders. First, Cherry is a kind-hearted person.  For example, she treats Ponyboy and Johnny with respect even though they are Greasers. She talks to them like friends, and she even shares her thoughts about life on the East Side and West Side. Additionally, we can see that Cherry is brave in some situations. She stands up to Dally when he acts rudely at the movies. She tells him to stop bothering her, and she does not back down even though Dally is intimidating. Finally, Cherry shows that she is an honest person.  She speaks her mind about the differences between Socs and Greasers when she is talking to Ponyboy. She admits that Socs have problems too, and she explains that things are rough all over. In conclusion, since Cherry is courageous, caring and genuine, she is a relatable and important character.

This demonstrates that AI can produce a clear, proficiency‑level model in minutes, which I now use to set expectations and reduce confusion before students create their draft. The outline helps students organize their thoughts before they start to write. Also, this can be quickly differentiated for ELLs or learners who benefit from additional scaffolds. I can simplify sentences or bold key transitions. This example has shortened my modeling time, increased the number of guided practice reps, and led to stronger first drafts because students have a concrete target and language they can imitate.

Artifact 2: Proficiency‑Scale Paragraph Rubric

Criteria	1 – Emerging	2 – Developing	3 – Proficient	4 – Extending
Topic Sentence	No clear claim; off‑topic or incomplete.	Claim present but vague or partly off‑task.	Clear, on‑topic claim that guides the paragraph.	Insightful or nuanced claim that shows deeper thinking.
Supporting Idea	Missing, irrelevant, or copied without purpose.	Some relevant evidence but limited or loosely connected.	Relevant, well‑chosen evidence that supports the claim.	Purposeful, high‑leverage evidence that strengthens the analysis.
Details	Little or no explanation of how evidence supports the claim.	Some explanation, but general or repetitive.	Clearly explains how the evidence supports the claim.	Thoughtful, insightful reasoning showing deeper understanding.
Conventions (Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation)	Frequent errors that interfere with meaning.	Noticeable errors but meaning mostly clear.	Minor errors only; meaning consistently clear.	Conventions controlled and enhanced clarity and style.

 

This rubric made my expectations transparent to students. Students can aim for proficient because the language is observable and student‑friendly. I can reference the rubric while modelling the paragraph. When students are writing their paragraph, they can quickly self‑diagnose gaps in their work. This rubric also makes it easier and quicker for me to provide feedback. Overall, the rubric has improved the quality of student’s paragraphs and has innovated my practice.

Who I Would Recommend This Activity to and Why

I would recommend this professional development session to any teacher. This workshop showed me how AI can innovate both teaching and learning by making everyday tasks faster, clearer, and more accessible. The tools we explored have already improved my workflow, reduced prep time, and allowed me to spend more one‑on‑one time supporting students. Because AI can help with differentiation, assessment, lesson planning, and the creation of exemplars, it has the potential to benefit teachers in every area. For me, it has elevated the quality of my instruction while also making my job more manageable, and I believe any educator would find similar value in integrating these tools into their practice.