Principal's report cont...

AI CHAT GPT

An interesting article for your consideration: 

AITSL CEO Mark Grant shares his perspective on the opportunities and challenges Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses to the education landscape.

Much has been said in recent months about the challenges that artificial intelligence (AI) present for schools and teachers – particularly large language models and generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Some education systems, both here in Australia and overseas, have even gone so far as to ban their use entirely.

While the technology is different to what we’ve seen in the past, the reaction to it is one that has echoed throughout history. Over the course of the last 200 years, schools and teachers have had to face concerns over emerging industrial and technological innovations.

In the 1800s, teachers worried about students’ reliance on paper, and what would happen when paper ran out. In the early 1900s, teachers worried about the use of ink, and that students were losing skills such as sharpening pencils with a knife. 

In the 1980s, we worried that the pocket calculator would lead to loss of numerical skills among students. In the 2000s, we worried that text messaging would affect students’ spelling, that search engines and the Internet would affect students’ memory recall, and about the privacy and ethics challenges presented by social media.

I am not suggesting concerns about these more recent developments were unwarranted – indeed, we continue to see the effects and implications of these playing out as our students navigate the world today. However, we can’t stop technological progress, and so as educators we must adapt to these innovations and advancements.

Undoubtedly, the pace at which generative AI tools are evolving presents a unique challenge and opportunity for teachers. 

First, the challenge – particularly in relation to student assessment. It is unrealistic to think that we can prevent students from accessing these tools (especially away from the school site) and as they continue to develop, it will become increasingly difficult, perhaps even impossible, to detect when they have been used. 

Perhaps then our focus should be on teaching students how to use these tools responsibly, and even embracing them as part of our teaching and learning practices. 

We know that beyond the education sector, employers are beginning to utilise generative AI and other AI tools – and so it’s important that we prepare students with the appropriate knowledge, capabilities, and ethical frameworks to use these tools when they join the workforce.

Like we have taught them to do with Internet sources more generally, it is important that our students know when and how to acknowledge the use of AI tools, and for them to have the necessary evaluative and research skills to be able to interrogate, judge and critically reflect on the information generated.

Ensuring equity of access should also be a key consideration, as it is with other technologies, to prevent widening the gap between particular cohorts of students depending on their language, cultural or socioeconomic background.

And now, the opportunity. I am optimistic about the potential for AI to support teachers in their work in and outside of the classroom. We know that administrative workload is a key factor affecting teachers’ job satisfaction and holding them back from spending more time on what matters most – teaching. 

Perhaps AI can assist teachers and leaders through doing some heavy lifting for out-of-field teachers, even beginning teachers, to suggest lesson plans and other materials that could be the basis of discussion with their supervisors; automating key tasks such as the drafting of letters, newsletters and risk assessments; initial marking of some assessments; or timetabling.

AI might minimise duplication in data collection by taking inputs from one source and transforming them for another purpose. Further, AI might analyse assessment data to provide teachers with advice on where their students might need additional instruction or support.

While the AI landscape is evolving too quickly for any of us to know what developments may eventuate in the coming months and years, there is one thing I’m certain of. Generative AI might offer valuable insights and support, but there is no substitute for expertise, and the human connection, that teachers and school leaders provide for their students.