Trained in AI at UF, a Bradford County educator helps revolutionize curriculum
Florida educator Christina Cornwell arrived in Santiago, Chile, last summer – more than 4,000 miles from home – surrounded by instructors from across the world who were interested in using AI in their classrooms.
The professional learning coordinator of the Bradford County School District never dreamed her role would bring her to South America for the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning’s 2024 Leadership for Professional Learning Symposium, or that she would become a leader in AI integration.
“I’m a professional learning coordinator in a small, rural district in Florida, plopped in another country, surrounded by high-caliber education professionals, and I’m supposed to talk with them about AI in education,” said Cornwell, who is based in Starke, Florida. “We don’t always think on such a broad scale; it’s usually, ‘What are we doing in Bradford? What are we doing in Florida, in the United States?’ It was so beneficial to broaden our outlook on education and what is going on worldwide.”
A new way to teach, statewide and beyond
Cornwell broadened her own outlook on education last February, when UF – an institution lauded for its “AI Across the Curriculum” program – opened her eyes to new possibilities in teaching with AI.
UF hosted experts from across the campus and the state for a Leadership Florida-sponsored event called “Emerging Trends: Navigating AI Technologies and Literacy in Education.”
“There was a lot of conversation about how artificial intelligence is making its way into education and, specifically, what research the University of Florida was doing in that area,” Cornwell said.
Through roles in the classroom and as an administrator, Cornwell has been privy to changes in education. In her early career, Cornwell taught middle and high school students in Wisconsin, Texas, and Florida. After earning a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of North Florida, she served the students of Clay County for 18 years as a middle school assistant principal and principal. She accepted her current position in Bradford County in August 2022 and began seeking opportunities to enhance the district’s professional learning program.
While the UF workshop in February provided Cornwell with a taste of AI’s capabilities, the UF College of Education followed up with the main dish. Cornwell returned to Gainesville in June (a month before her Chile trip) for the Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Middle School Education project’s summer institute at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, where she learned how to integrate AI technology into middle school classrooms.
The Applications initiative involves disseminating AI education and resources through workshops with Alachua County Public Schools and the North East Florida Educational Consortium.
Bringing the knowledge to Florida students
Using what she learned at UF, Cornwell began implementing AI-centered initiatives in Bradford County and other Florida districts.
“My interest came with workload – how can artificial intelligence help us retain teachers? How can we help reduce that teacher workload, for example, by creating letters and lesson plans and assisting with idea generation?” Cornwell said. “So the original focus was on giving teachers more tools rather than on student use, but by supporting the teachers, we’re also supporting the students.”
At a North East Florida Educational Consortium conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Cornwell presented an overview of AI in education, relaying a potential path forward for Bradford County based on feedback she had received from other districts. She also facilitated two introductory professional learning opportunities for her teachers on AI prompt engineering and general usage of large language models.
“Artificial intelligence is here; there’s no denying it,” Cornwell said. “We can either make a plan and train our teachers on how to use it responsibly and how to teach our students to use it responsibly, or we will get left behind.”
Some of Cornwell’s suggestions for introducing AI programs into local schools include working with district school boards to formalize AI usage policies and procedures, collaborating with information technology directors to ensure adequate technical support and guidelines, and implementing basic and advanced professional learning opportunities for teachers and administrators to learn best practices.
She also emphasizes the importance of transparent communication with parents and the community regarding how AI is used in the classroom – to enhance public knowledge and trust in AI in education.
Knowing that success in today’s workforce necessitates AI literacy, Cornwell is working to bring teachers and students statewide up to speed while looking toward the future.
“If we are sending our kids into society and they don’t have a clue as to what AI is and how to use it responsibly and ethically, we’re doing a disservice to them,” Cornwell said. “The kids we teach aren’t always going to stay in Bradford County. We have to prepare them for the world.”