Professional learning · Coaches, Teachers, Leaders · 50 minutes
Norms for the AI Era
A PLC builds trust first, then sorts real shared-planning dilemmas and drafts its own norms for AI use: disclose it, check it, and never put student data in a prompt.
Shared planning folders now hold quizzes, rubrics, and parent letters that a chatbot helped draft, and teams rarely talk about it. One teammate feels uneasy using an unmarked AI-written quiz; another quietly pasted student writing into a tool to get feedback ideas. This session gives a PLC a structured way to talk about it before it becomes a conflict: a Hopes, Hesitations, and Needs round built on three kinds of trust, a sort of realistic dilemmas, and a one-page set of team norms on disclosure, verification, and privacy that the team agrees to revisit.
In this packet
- Handout A: Trust Protocol Cards (cut-apart cards)
- Handout B: Shared Planning Dilemmas Sort (card sort)
- Handout C: Our Team's AI Norms (worksheet)
- Facilitator key (last page)
TCEA ELE indicators
- C5.1 I know how to foster a collaborative culture among educators.
- C5.3 I am aware of strategies to build trust and promote teamwork.
- C4.2 I can identify and address teachers' individual learning needs.
- AI2.1 I know how to apply ethical principles when using or developing AI for education.
- AI2.3 I am aware of the importance of transparency and accountability in AI systems.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/norms-for-the-ai-era.html
Handout A for Norms for the AI Era
Trust Protocol Cards
Cut apart. The coach reads the three Trust Type cards in the Hook; the team uses the Round and Rule cards in the protocol. Backs are facilitator notes.
Sheet 1 of 2
Trust Type · Communicative
Trust built by what we say and how we follow through on it: listening well, paraphrasing, being clear about expectations, and keeping shared notes so no one is surprised.
Trust Type · Relational
Trust built by how we treat each other: noticing and celebrating wins, being present and dependable, and showing empathy when something is hard.
Trust Type · Competence-based
Trust built by doing what we said we would do, well: following through promptly on promised help, anticipating needs, and grounding advice in sound practice.
Round 1 · Hopes
"One way AI could help our team plan better is…"
Round 2 · Hesitations
"One thing that worries me about AI in shared planning is…"
Round 3 · Needs
"To trust a resource a teammate shares, I need to know…"
Rule · Paraphrase first
Before you add your answer, restate the person before you: "What I hear you saying is…" Check: "Did I get that right?" Then add yours.
Rule · Equal voice
Speak only with the talking piece. Everyone speaks once per round. You may pass once. The coach speaks last.
Handout A for Norms for the AI Era
Trust Protocol Cards
Cut apart. The coach reads the three Trust Type cards in the Hook; the team uses the Round and Rule cards in the protocol. Backs are facilitator notes.
Sheet 2 of 2
Closing · A win
"One idea a teammate shared today that will help our students is…"
Handout B for Norms for the AI Era
Shared Planning Dilemmas Sort
Place each strip in a column and say your reason: privacy, accuracy, or transparency. If the team disagrees, put the strip on the line.
Go ahead
Go ahead and disclose
Stop: remove student or colleague data first
Pause: ask the team or district
Handout B for Norms for the AI Era
Shared Planning Dilemmas Sort: cards to sort
Cut apart the strips. Sort each one onto the mat and be ready to explain why.
Using an approved chatbot to brainstorm ten discussion questions for a novel, then choosing and editing four.
Sharing an AI-drafted quiz in the team folder for everyone to use on Friday.
Pasting a student's essay, with the name, into a chatbot to get feedback ideas.
Asking a chatbot to summarize last week's PLC notes, which include comments about two named students' behavior.
Using AI to translate a newsletter to families into Spanish and Vietnamese.
Generating a rubric with AI and adapting it to the team's writing standards.
Uploading the whole class roster with reading scores to an AI tool to form small groups.
A teammate uses a new AI lesson-plan app the district hasn't reviewed and wants to share its plans.
Asking a chatbot for five common misconceptions about fractions, then checking them against the curriculum guide.
Creating an AI-generated image of a historical figure for a slide students will see.
Writing an email to a colleague about a disagreement with AI help and sending it without reading it closely.
Using AI to draft a parent email about a specific student's grades.
Handout C for Norms for the AI Era
Our Team's AI Norms
Write each norm as an action a visitor could see. Test the draft against the two cases at the bottom.
Disclosure: When AI helps make something we share, we…
Verification: Before anything AI-drafted reaches students or families, we…
Privacy: We never put these into a prompt… (list them), and when in doubt we…
Trust: When someone is uncomfortable with a shared resource or with how AI was used, they can…, and we will…
Revisit: We will check these norms against real files in our shared folder on (date), and the person who brings three examples is…
Test case 1: A teammate used AI to translate a letter about the field trip into Arabic. A parent calls to say one sentence is confusing. Do our norms say what to do? What would we change?
Test case 2: A teammate says, "I don't want to use any AI-drafted material with my students." Do our norms respect that and still let the team plan together? What would we change?
Facilitator only for Norms for the AI Era
Answer key and notes
Handout A: Trust Protocol Cards
- Trust Type · Communicative
- In this session: the paraphrase rule and the written norms.
- Trust Type · Relational
- In this session: the closing win round, and taking hesitations seriously instead of arguing with them.
- Trust Type · Competence-based
- In this session: the coach's private follow-up list, delivered within a week.
- Round 1 · Hopes
- Hopes first lowers the temperature and reminds skeptics that the team is not choosing sides.
- Round 2 · Hesitations
- Do not answer or correct hesitations during the round. Record them. They become norms.
- Round 3 · Needs
- Typical answers: who made it, whether anyone checked it, whether student information went into it. Each one is a norm.
- Rule · Paraphrase first
- Slows the conversation just enough that people feel heard. Model it yourself if the first speaker skips it.
- Rule · Equal voice
- The coach speaking last keeps the team's voice ahead of the coach's.
- Closing · A win
- Keep it specific and brief. It ends the session on shared purpose.
Handout B: Shared Planning Dilemmas Sort
| Item | Sort | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Using an approved chatbot to brainstorm ten discussion questions for a novel, then choosing and editing four. | Go ahead | Low risk; the teacher's judgment shapes the final product. Some teams will still want a disclosure note. |
| Sharing an AI-drafted quiz in the team folder for everyone to use on Friday. | Go ahead and disclose | Transparency and accuracy: teammates need to know how it was made and who checked each item. |
| Pasting a student's essay, with the name, into a chatbot to get feedback ideas. | Stop: remove student or colleague data first | Privacy: student work and names do not go into a prompt. Remove identifying details, or don't paste it at all. |
| Asking a chatbot to summarize last week's PLC notes, which include comments about two named students' behavior. | Stop: remove student or colleague data first | Privacy: the notes identify students. Summarize by hand or remove names and details first. |
| Using AI to translate a newsletter to families into Spanish and Vietnamese. | Pause: ask the team or district | Accuracy and access: families deserve an accurate translation; check whether the district has translation guidance or a human reviewer. |
| Generating a rubric with AI and adapting it to the team's writing standards. | Go ahead and disclose | Transparency: note that AI drafted it and the team revised it. |
| Uploading the whole class roster with reading scores to an AI tool to form small groups. | Stop: remove student or colleague data first | Privacy: never upload identifiable student data to a tool that is not district-approved for it. |
| A teammate uses a new AI lesson-plan app the district hasn't reviewed and wants to share its plans. | Pause: ask the team or district | Privacy and accuracy: unreviewed tools raise data and quality questions the team can't settle alone. |
| Asking a chatbot for five common misconceptions about fractions, then checking them against the curriculum guide. | Go ahead | Accuracy is handled by the check against a trusted source. |
| Creating an AI-generated image of a historical figure for a slide students will see. | Go ahead and disclose | Transparency and media literacy: label it as generated so students don't mistake it for a historical image. |
| Writing an email to a colleague about a disagreement with AI help and sending it without reading it closely. | Pause: ask the team or district | Trust: tone matters between colleagues. This one is better written, or at least reread, by the sender. Teams often move it to a trust norm. |
| Using AI to draft a parent email about a specific student's grades. | Stop: remove student or colleague data first | Privacy: draft a general template without student details, then add specifics yourself. |