Using AI to break down Department Circulars
The Department of Education released guidelines on seclusion in schools today. I thought it might be a good way to showcase how AI can be used when a circular comes out. Here’s what I did:
As well as the document, I also decided to read @carlobrien’s article on the guidelines in the Irish Times and use it to address any concerns I might have that were in the public sphere. More on that in a bit so back to the main document.
It doesn’t take a expert prompt engineer to guess what the first prompt was! This is what I typed.
Can you provide a detailed summary of this circular from the Department of Education?
I still get excited by how it seems so clever. It divided it up into these parts:
Key Highlights:
- Child-Centered Approach
- Preventative Strategies
- Stance on Seclusion and Restraint
- Training and Support
- Complementary Resources
I had some questions after reading @carlobrien’s piece:
For me, I want to understand what the Department mean by seclusion. Because if I bring a child out of the classroom to have a chat, technically this could be considered seclusion. So I asked and it spouted out a lot more than I thought.
It couldn’t really give me a straight answer and it ended with advising me to be proactive and contact the NCSE for advice on whether or not it could be considered seclusion. I was also interested in what would happen if a child was constantly trying to flee the school.
It offered a 6-point plan:
- Safety as a Priority (for the child — no mention of adults) • Avoiding Restraint • Supervision and Support • Risk Assessment and Planning • Collaboration with Parents and Agencies • Trauma-Informed Approach
It also suggested what to avoid:
For the laugh I asked if funding would be provided. It may as well have been written by the Department spin doctors themselves!
Yes, the Department of Education’s guidelines mention funding supports to help schools implement the recommended approaches, particularly in relation to training and resources. Here are the details:
Funding Allocated:
Initial Training Support:
- Funding has been allocated to provide specialized training programs for schools. This training will focus on managing behaviors of concern, crisis situations, and adopting trauma-informed practices.
Targeted Focus:
- Special schools and schools with significant needs will be the first to receive training and resources, with a phased rollout to other schools later.
Additional Resources:
- Funding will also cover the development and distribution of guidance materials, toolkits, and other resources that align with the guidelines.
Ongoing Development:
- The Department commits to continuously evaluating the funding requirements to ensure schools can access the necessary supports.
I also asked about procedures if school can’t manage behaviours of concern. It went through a plethora of steps all the way until exclusion from school. My next idea was to ask other teachers what questions they would have about it.
I put the questions to ChatGPT. I got a few responses including this one about detention. In relation to detention, it was coy enough: While the guidelines do not explicitly prohibit detention or suspension…schools should consider the appropriateness of such punitive measures
The guidelines are 96 pages long and there aren’t too many people out there that have the time to go through every page of them. ChatGPT gives a good summary and it also allows you to scrutinise its results very well too.
In a world where we are looking for positive uses for AI in education, I see ChatGPT as an excellent tool for summarising long documents but it is also very good at answering specific questions about the document. I also like that it doesn’t really bullshit.
If it doesn’t know an answer, it may give you an opinion but it will also tell you to check with the right people. However, it doesn’t have the nuance of knowing certain things. For example, it offers the school to contact HSE services, even though they aren’t functional!
