Technology & Innovation - Issue 11

O ne of the earliest actions taken by the current government was to commission a wide-ranging CurriculumReview overseen by Dr Becky Francis – who has been quoted as saying, “ If we put anything in, we have to take something out! ” It appears that this Review will be informed by existing thinking, based on seeing children as ‘vessels’ that we fill with knowledge. With Ofsted downgrading schools when children can’t demonstrate that they retain the holy grail of ‘sequenced knowledge’, it would seem inspectors remain less concerned with children’s ‘soft skills’ in applying what they have learnt. AI on the rise Set against that, however, is a recent survey commissioned by the outdoor education provider Inspiring Learning, which reveals that a third of 16- to 24-year-old employees lack key employability skills, with over a quarter demonstrating insufficient communication, resilience and problem solving skills in the workplace. Elsewhere, research by Internet Matters has found that over half of all students regularly use generative AI tools for their schoolwork, yet two thirds of schools don’t discuss with students their use of AI. Nor is it just students turning to AI. Research by Teacher Tapp suggests that growing workload demands and ongoing teacher shortages have resulted in AI becoming an essential daily support tool, with some four in ten teachers making MeenaWood considers whether the government’s current curriculum priorities risk being overtaken by wider societal trends... A curriculum for what? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Meena Wood is a former principal and HMI, and author of Secondary Curriculum Transformed – Enabling All to Achieve (Routledge, £24.99) regular use of AI in their daily duties. This can include using it to craft quizzes, develop topical lesson plans and ensure that teachers’ own questions are sufficiently inclusive and accessible. Fresh perspectives At this stage, we know that AI can be a valuable technological tool that enables iterative ideation and metacognitive reflection. AI tools can also support neurodiverse students, by helping them to structure workflows, devising study strategies and revision plans, and making otherwise overwhelming tasks much more manageable. Moreover, if used carefully, ChatGPT can already present students with fresh perspectives, alternative viewpoints and persuasive arguments by playing the role of a virtual debating partner. Students can potentially interview ‘Picasso’, a rocket scientist or aWWI conscript, and thus draw on their literacy and oracy skills in the course of their history studies. One history professor has successfully used generative AI to create a ‘Black Death simulator’, creating voices and observations that give students a more visceral sense of life during The Plague, and later events that subsequently led to the development of vaccines. The keyquestion For all their promise, however, current AI technologies do remain highly prone to citing factual errors or creating instances of misinformation. Critical and digital literacy skills, if structured into curriculum, can act as a bulwark against information overload and more irresponsible uses of AI, enabling students to sift knowledge, analyse sources and more confidently evaluate the accuracy of what they see and hear. Taken together, the methods by which schools are already using AI seem to be paving the way for big shifts in teaching and learning – which in turn will have huge ramifications for how and what Ofsted will inspect in future. The CurriculumReview’s current approach seems to be ‘Evolution rather than revolution’ – yet the stark reality is that global developments in technology will inevitably filter through to our young people, whether we’re ready to embrace them or not. If we want AI to evolve as friend, rather than foe, then a focus on teaching ‘soft skills’, combined with better classroom training and support for practitioners and students should be our priority. Upskilling students so that they can be independent, resilient learners, and articulate critical thinkers with reasoning and problem- solving skills, is what will equip them for the future. The key question for our time is now surely, ‘ How can education best shape future generations of young people? ’ 19 teachwire.net D E V E LO P M E N T S