AI at QD: Cultivating Innovation with Integrity

Empowering Educators as AI Pioneers

At Shanghai Qibao Dwight High School (QD), teachers lead the charge in using this new technology through our “AI and Ed Tech” Professional Learning Community (PLC). There, our teachers experiment with AI systems and language models while addressing ethical challenges.

“We’re not just adopting AI—we’re dissecting it.” This was a sentiment shared by QD Computer Science and Mathematics teacher Mr. Liu Hongyi, who this spring partnered with English teacher John Pasden in delivering a faculty-led PLC focused on integrating AI into teaching and learning.

QD American Principal Robbie Shields said, “How we teach, how we assess students’ work, and the possibilities we have as educators are expanded significantly by the presence and development of these technologies, but it’s important that we get it right.”

At QD, a big part of “getting it right” stems from bringing students into the process to dialogue about AI. This was evident in our approach to leveraging the tools in class, as seen in our English B classes. Here, the team has elected to use an AI image generator, asking students to craft prompts that address specific plot points in novels. These AIgenerated images reflect each students’ understanding and experience of the written work. Beyond this fun and innovative approach, it’s also helping students become better communicators.

“AI helps me refine my grammar and tone, but Mr. Pasden shows us how to keep our own voice,” shares a grade 11 student.

Beyond the Classroom

With AI being such a new area impacting teaching and learning, QD is seeking different expertise and perspectives to better understand how it can benefit students. Recently, Ni Jiahui, Head of the Digital Center, attended an AI conference at NYU Shanghai, where USC’s Dr. Immordino-Yang reframed AI’s role in learning, urging educators to prioritize cultivating human ideas over outsourcing thinking to machines.

As AI reshapes cognition, we must anchor teaching in what makes us uniquely human,” reflects Ms. Ni. From this, Ms. Ni added, “Ultimately, our goal isn’t to future-proof students—it’s to empower them to shape that future responsibly.

At QD, AI isn’t replacing human potential; it’s revealing new dimensions of it.