The Digital Counselor: Leveraging AI in High School Settings

Outline

AI for Counselors: Seminar Outline
I. Introduction (~1-2 minutes)
A. Presenter Background:
1. Nicole Serner, BMITE teacher at Perkins-Tryon High School.
2. 25 years in education, including 20 years teaching Social Studies.
II. Understanding AI (~5 minutes)
A. What is AI?:
1. Definition of Generative AI: AI that creates new content (text, images, music, etc.) by learning from existing data.
2. Examples of AI applications: Image generation, text generation, music composition, code generation, drug discovery.
III. Key Programs & Tools (~3-5 minutes)
A. AI in Education:
1. AI as a support system, not a replacement.
2. Overview of ChatGPT and its rapid growth since release. {Have Participants log in to Chatgpt & Gemini & make accounts}
3. Impact of AI on job markets: 85 million jobs lost, 97 million jobs created.
IV. Prominent Careers Related to AI (~3 minutes)
A. Prompt Engineers:
1. Salaries ranging from $80,000 to $150,000.
2. The role of writing good prompts for AI.
V. Practical Applications of AI for Counselors (~3 minutes)
A. Writing Prompts and Letters:
1. Example of generating recommendation letters for students.
2. Parent emails concerning academic issues.
VI. Enhancing Student Interaction (~5 minutes) {Have participants do a sample letter}
A. Icebreakers:
1. Using AI to create engaging icebreaker questions for new students.
B. Creating Surveys:
1. AI-generated student and parent surveys.
C. Study Support:
1. AI-generated study schedules, practice quizzes, and differentiated lessons.
VII. AI for Special Education Needs (~5-8 minutes)
A. Helping Struggling Students:
1. AI tools for struggling readers, like Diffit. {Have participants go to Diffit to create account and a resource; also show participants how to use Chat GPT & Gemini to do this}
2. Supporting IEP writing with MagicSchool.ai. {Have participants go to site to look}
B. Translation Services:
1. Example of AI-generated translations for classroom content.
VIII. AI for Career Exploration(~5 minutes)
A. Career Interest Tools:
1. Using AI to help students explore careers, create resumes, and write cover letters. {show example of Thanksgiving dinner to show participants how to drill down & refine questions}
2. Example of webquests for career research.
IX. Emotional and Social Support with AI(~3-5 minutes)
A. Needs Assessments:
1. Beginning-of-year needs assessments for students.
B. Emotional Intelligence Assessments:
1. AI tools for evaluating students' emotional intelligence.
C. AI as a Stop-Gap for Mental Health Support:
1. AI’s role in offering immediate support for students in need of therapy.
X. Addressing Academic Integrity(~5 minutes)
A. Detecting Cheating:
1. Red flags for AI-generated student work.
2. How AI can help track changes and detect sudden improvements in skill.
XI. AI as a Personal Assistant (~3 minutes
A. Administrative & Support Functions:
1. AI as a chatbot for scheduling, reminders, personalized support, and mental health management.
2. Enhancing student engagement and communication using AI tools.
XII. Conclusion (~1-3 minutes)
A. Collaborative Opportunities:
1. Encouraging participants to collaborate in exploring AI for educational improvement.
2. Contact information for continued support

Ask participants as we go for ideas and topics

Supporting research

The AI dilemma: 7 principles for responsible technology. (2023). Berrett-Koehler Publishers,.

Edtech for the K-12 classroom: ISTE readings on how, when and why to use technology. (2022). International Society for Technology in Education.

Clark, H. (2023). Ai infused classroom. Elevate Books.

Gawdat, M. (2021). Scary smart. Macmillan.

Mehta, R. (2023). A ban on ChatGPT does more harm than good. MIT Technology Review, 126(3), 20–21.