Harnessing the power of AI

As Sydenham’s Edtech lead I am passionate about providing pupils with the digital literacy skills that they need to thrive within school and beyond, as well as facilitating the use of educational technology for impactful learning experiences in the classroom. I feel very lucky to have this role at a time of significant change and innovation in technology globally. In particular, I have had the opportunity to attend several leading conferences about AI in education, hearing from the leading professionals in the field such as Professor Rose Luckin, Sir Anthony Seldon and Priya Lakhani OBE. I also have the privilege of being a Co-Chair of the GDST’s AI Committee, helping to drive innovative work across the GDST and ensuring that we remain at the forefront of education here at Sydenham & Dulwich Girls.

Whilst Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for many decades, the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 represented a significant watershed moment in the adoption and integration of the technology into society more broadly. This trend is set to continue as generative AI technology continues to advance apace. It has rapidly become a particularly hot topic with regards to its use in education, initially at university level but increasingly so within schools. We have kept a close interest in this nascent field to ensure that we can continue in our rich history of offering a pioneering education to young women. As part of my professional interest in the field, I am currently undertaking research for a doctoral thesis that focuses on the appropriate adoption of AI in education. I am clear that we need to implement AI in a way that is pedagogically informed and not on the basis of hype generated as a result of the commercial imperative of the big tech companies.

Our vision at Sydenham is to equip our pupils with the necessary skills they will need to flourish in their chosen future pathways. This includes developing confidence in digital skills; an important aspect of this is now AI literacy. We aim to ensure our pupils have the knowledge and skills to thrive in an AI driven world, including knowledge of its limitations and ethical considerations as well as its strengths and how to best harness its power. However, we need to balance this carefully with ensuring that our pupils remain astute learners and are well-prepared for their external examinations and further study. AI has already been added to our PSHE programme, to ensure that pupils are well informed as to how generative AI is trained and the potential limitations and ethical implications of this. We are also running an innovative workshop for Year 10 pupils as part of our Mind, Body and Soul Day in February. This will explore AI in more detail and culminate in an AI hackathon where pupils work in groups on a range of challenges to determine the utility and validity of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

I have worked closely with staff and pupils to develop innovative guidelines for the appropriate use of AI by pupils. When teachers set tasks for pupils, they will indicate the level of AI use that is appropriate for a particular task, ranging from ‘no AI’ to ‘full AI’, with other levels of ‘AI planning’ and ‘AI collaboration’ also possible. These have clear guidelines for the elements of a task that pupils may use AI for, as long as its use is clearly referenced. This will allow for the nurturing of appropriate AI skills whilst ensuring that pupils are not using AI in ways that may negatively impact their learning and future success. Rather than outlawing AI, we are building an open and collaborative learning environment where staff can guide pupils in the appropriate uses of AI, whilst maintaining high expectations around tasks where AI use is not appropriate. This guidance applies to all pupils. In line with our policy, younger pupils below the age of 13 will not be set any tasks involving AI. Instead, they will focus on strengthening their foundational skills. Our guidelines will be shared with all pupils over the coming weeks in a whole school assembly, and further information will be made available on SydConnect, our digital learning platform.

One key element of the AI strategy that I have developed has been to invest in building staff confidence in the use of AI. Staff have had several training opportunities that have built AI literacy skills and provided hands-on opportunities to explore its use and to critically evaluate its potential. Staff have also explored some of the limitations of AI, such as biases and hallucinations. The aim is for staff to feel that they can confidently guide our pupils in appropriate AI use and help to drive forward our mission to empower future-ready young women, equipped with the skills to counter the dominance of the ‘tech bro’ narrative.

I believe that our proactive and thoughtful approach to AI in education sets a powerful example for other institutions. By embracing this technology with a strong foundation of ethics, critical thinking, and a sense of responsibility, we are not just preparing students for the future; we are actively shaping it.

Catherine Buckler, Head of Geography