Leadership

What happened when a School put Lantern AI to the test?

Last month, we introduced the Lantern Leadership Studio, a governed AI environment designed to help school leaders establish the correct policy-based professional footing of a situation before deciding how to act. The post – Can AI Help School Leaders Think more Clearly has a leadership challenge and a downloadable response from the Lantern Leadership Studio.

This second part reflects on what happened when a real school used it.

Can AI help school leaders think more clearly?

A headteacher receives a report that a pupil has been acting out in lessons. Alongside the initial report, there are small additional details. A comment passed on from a teaching assistant. A change in behaviour noted by other members of staff. Something that does not quite fit but is easy to set aside. The situation is approached through the school’s behaviour policy. It is a reasonable response to what the issue appears to be.

But despite the details for a procedurally defensible response being there from the outset, they are not brought together in their entirety. Although nothing is done irresponsibly, the situation ends up being misread from the moment it arrives.

School Environment and Leadership (Latest Evidence Review) by @EvidenceInEdu

It is often said that the impact of school leadership, on pupil outcomes, is second only to the impact of classroom teachers.  There is good evidence that a school’s professional environment affects pupils’ learning, in a range of ways. Hence it is critical that school leaders view their primary responsibility as creating and maintaining the most conducive professional environment they can.  Therein lies a problem.