Developing AI Fluency: How Franklin School Equips Students for a TechDriven World

Franklin School incorporates ethical AI usage throughout its curriculum. Beginning in grade 9, Franklin’s Skills Course has a seven-week AI Information lesson, where students are assigned to research various important aspects of the new technology, including how machines gain intelligence by tracking a phone’s history and searches. Their research expands into how AI is used in various career fields, touching on everything from medical software to insurance, loan, and financial aid algorithms. They end the course with a discussion on how to use AI for social good.

Franklin offers two AI electives that are each a year long. “Creative Applications of AI” explores how generative AI can be used in fields like art, music, writing, and game design, and students complete hands-on projects with cutting-edge tools. In addition, students can take “AI Design Lab.”

AI Design Lab takes a deeper dive into how AI works, from neural networks and computer vision to natural language processing and machine learning, explains Director of Innovation Jaymes Dec.

These electives often extend into transdisciplinary work, as is evident in the recent collaboration with the Psychology course. AI elective students paired up with Psychology students to investigate if AI can replicate human emotions. Psych students were able to effectively explain to AI students which five factors influence human emotion. The AI students then took that information to a chat bot, to code it accordingly.

“It tested my knowledge on what I’ve been learning, breaking down these scientific terms to someone who’s never taken a Psych class,” says Abby ’28.

Teachers are also developing AI skills at Franklin. Canvas, our homework submission website, has an AI indicator tracking system that teachers set, determining how much AI usage students can incorporate into their submissions. Similar to turnitin.com, the site scans and alarms teachers when over-usage of AI is detected. This helps keep students accountable for the proper use of AI.

In the most recent episode of our podcast, Franklin UnlimitED, Founding Head of School Will Campbell spoke with Dr. Paul Teys, an educator with over 40 years of experience in school leadership about how AI isn’t the future — it’s now. Dr. Teys says a school’s job is to “prepare students to work alongside AI. It’s such a rich resource that’s now available.”

Franklin is doing just that — preparing students (and teachers) to effectively and productively use AI to their full potential.

Accreditation News

Franklin School is now accredited by the Middle States Association, in only its third year. Read more about the accreditation and stellar report our school received here.