Generative AI at CDS
Over the last year, Generative AI has had a significant, almost immediate, impact upon so many facets of our lives - personal, social, cultural and professional. The arena of education is no different in this regard. Like other technological milestones - there are some of us still around who are old enough to remember the rapid integration of the internet into education in the 1990s - generative AI, undoubtedly, will have a transformative effect on teaching and learning in the years to come.
The Country Day School’s Long Range Plan identifies Balance and Innovate as a key priority. Within that context, CDS is actively exploring the integration of Generative AI into our teaching and learning practices and developing guardrails for appropriate student use with the following aims:
- The School establishes a baseline understanding of how generative AI works for all faculty members through shared resources and training sessions.
- The School regularly reviews our policies and procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose given emerging tools that students have access to.
- The School is supporting teachers with curricular planning so that they can set specific and realistic expectations for how students can employ Generative AI for their units and assignments, while simultaneously establishing practices and policies to ensure that student learning is not compromised by Generative AI.
- The School is piloting a generative AI tool among faculty for productivity purposes.
Generative AI is a powerful tool. When used considerately it can further students’ attainment of learning expectations in a variety of areas (research, information and knowledge gathering, computer coding, as well as oral, written and visual communication). When used indiscriminately, it can circumvent the learning process, providing students with shortcuts that limit their ability to demonstrate original creative, analytical and critical-thinking skills, as well as how those skills are communicated orally and in writing.
During professional development days in June and in late August, CDS faculty convened to examine how AI works, explore ways to integrate it into current teaching practices, and to strategize how best to ensure our assessments remain authentic demonstrations of what students know and are able to do. Overall, we are confident that our balanced approach to Generative AI will serve our faculty and students well in their pursuit of learning.
Land Acknowledgment
The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.
School Information
13415 Dufferin Street King, Ontario L7B 1K5
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
(905) 833-1220
communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca
Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.
