Cheshire Academy pilots Student AI Council as teachers adopt varied AI tools
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Cheshire Academy, a Connecticut boarding school with about 400 students, is piloting a Student AI Council to guide healthy AI use. Teachers there use a patchwork of AI tools including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and MagicSchool after staff training on prompt crafting and AI limits. The school's approach contrasts with broader debates on student mindsets toward AI-supported learning.
Key Facts
- Cheshire Academy is a private boarding and day school in Connecticut with about 400 students in grades 9 through 12.
- The school's librarian and technology coordinator George Aiello claims the "vast majority" of instructors use AI in some way.
- Teachers use a patchwork of programs including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and MagicSchool, an AI-powered platform for educators.
- The school trained staff on general AI techniques, covering prompt crafting and highlighting risks of incorrect and biased responses.
- Psychologist Carol Dweck distinguishes between growth mindset and fixed mindset in her research on motivation and learning.
Cheshire Academy's AI Integration
Cheshire Academy does not force instructors to use AI, but most do so in some capacity. The school opted to train staff on general AI techniques rather than prescribing specific technology, following consultant advice. Training covered crafting useful prompts and stressed the technology's limits, including potential for incorrect and biased responses. Teachers now often use generative AI to prepare class materials such as lesson plans and grading rubrics. Some educators want to use AI for student feedback, but concerns over quality, personalization, and privacy have prevented adoption so far.
Classroom Practices and Student Engagement
French teacher Miriam Przybyla-Baum does not use AI herself but addresses it in her teaching, drawing on nearly 30 years of classroom materials. She developed assignments where students let a large language model edit their homework, then evaluate which edits were correct and which removed their voice. In another assignment, students anonymously grade each other's AI-assisted work and annotate which parts they believe are AI-generated. Cheshire Academy is piloting a Student AI Council program where students create media and lead discussions on healthy AI use.
Student Mindsets and AI Learning
Psychologist Carol Dweck's research distinguishes between growth mindset, where ability can be developed, and fixed mindset, where ability is seen as fixed. Students with a fixed mindset may avoid AI due to fear of failure or over-rely on it to bypass productive struggle, making learning passive. A growth mindset may lead students to use AI for skill development, idea exploration, feedback requests, and strategy testing with curiosity. Recent research supports the distinction between growth and fixed mindsets in the context of AI-supported learning.
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Cheshire Academy pilots Student AI Council as teachers adopt varied AI tools
