Last term we ran a Year 9 AI pilot to explore how students and teachers might use Microsoft Copilot 13+ in ways that support learning while preserving the intellectual habits we value most: thinking through ideas and problems, clear arguments, ethical judgement, reflection and academic honesty.
The rationale was to test whether AI could be used responsibly across subject areas, with clear guidelines, appropriate privacy protections, and a shared understanding of what students should and should not outsource to technology. The pilot allowed us to work within a defined scope, gather meaningful feedback, and refine our approach before considering broader use.
From the outset, we considered several important questions. How do we use AI and remain true to our desire for students to think deeply, express their ideas fluently and write ideas articulately? How do we ensure students retain a nuanced and hierarchy of ideas when forming an argument? How do we ensure reflection remains genuine?
We also considered practical questions such as: What AI use should be acknowledged in references? What guidelines would help students prompt effectively? and What assessment models would make AI use transparent?
The pilot showed that AI was useful to some extent. Not all our ‘experiments’ yielded successful results!
Across subjects, students used AI for summarising, finding information, identifying resources, receiving feedback on improvement, and building evidence that could support conceptual understanding. In Social Science, students and teachers found Copilot helpful for time saving, locating relevant articles and identifying useful resources. In Drama, it was integrated into the devising process, though many students still preferred teacher guidance. In Music, students used AI to compare analytical depth, but this did not reveal many useful insights. In Art, the quality of prompting proved essential.
Our findings left us with much to contemplate. Some students believed AI was unethical or too close to cheating, while others were concerned about environmental impact. Some were not prepared to take the extra step required to use AI well. Students who did not include the School’s guidelines in their prompts often received responses pitched far above their level of comprehension. Others received long lists of further questions that they found tedious.
Importantly, the pilot reminded us that AI can create an illusion of learning: students were not automatically better able to transfer information simply because AI had helped generate or organise it.
The survey questions we developed asked students about their confidence in writing effective prompts, how much AI helped their learning, whether they wanted more training, and whether they wanted more opportunities to use AI next term. We also asked teachers about the value added to teaching and learning, and what further support staff and students needed.
Rather than banning AI or making it freely available, we intend to allow Year 9 to use Copilot 13 + for selected assignments as determined by their teachers. We have also begun training them on using AI for study planning such as breaking down tasks, designing revision schedules, generating practice questions and creating revision checklists. We will also enable Copilot use to Years 11 and 12 to support their studies.
We endeavour to direct our own vision of AI in teaching and learning within The Dalton Plan. This ensures careful navigation that continues to show girls how to work responsibly with technology while maintaining their motivation for thinking and learning. It is important that our girls don’t miss out on the satisfaction of creating and owning their decisions and the pride in completing their own tasks.
Dr Joanne Manning | Director of Curriculum and Learning P–12
