Artificial intelligence
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 No 4, 9 June 2023, page no.13
While there are many potential benefits of this technology, careful consideration and management is needed to preserve the integrity of the education system and the teaching, learning and assessment practices undertaken in schools, and to ensure that social and educational inequalities are not exacerbated by AI and its use.
At present, digital technologies are used in an ad hoc manner across the state. Artificial intelligence (AI) platforms are encroaching on an environment that lacks consistent digital technology guidelines and has not appropriately considered the myriad of implications that AI brings. This has created an urgent need to create a framework that addresses the full suite of legal, industrial, professional, and educational issues that arise with its use.
While the Department of Education has a representative on the Federal Minister’s AI Education Taskforce, which is charged with developing an “evidence-based, best practice framework to guide schools in harnessing AI tools to support teaching and learning”, the QTU is concerned that this taskforce does not have any representation from practising teachers. Teachers and education leaders must be represented at all levels of discussion regarding AI use and its implications. It is not appropriate to hand responsibility for deciding what teachers should be doing to a taskforce consisting entirely of AI experts who are not school-based teachers, and therefore have no understanding of the “on-the-ground” industrial, legal, and professional ramifications of their decisions.
The QTU is represented on the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s (QCAA) AI Working Group (AIWG), and has flagged several concerns, in particular regarding the educational equity issues that AI could potentially widen. The unequal access to technology that is a feature within Queensland and high levels of social and educational disadvantage make this concern a very real one for our members. Importantly, the industrial impacts that AI might bring need to be discussed. For example, will assessment need to be reconsidered, and with this the additional time needed to manage assessment and marking?
In the absence of AI guidelines for education, the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) and the Independent Education Union - Queensland and Northern Territory Branch (IEU-QNT) have been collaborating to develop a Queensland framework to guide professional decision making in relation to AI and other digital technologies. This is currently in the final stages and is likely to be available from Term 3.
The guidelines are formulated under the following headings:
- Ethical responsibilities of teachers, schools, and education systems
- Curriculum and pedagogy
- Products and platforms
- Workplace health and safety considerations.
A “traffic light” system will be used to assist school leaders and teachers in determining how to work effectively with AI.
Applications that fall under the green category will be those that reduce teacher workload and/or support student learning, without undermining the role of the teacher or negatively impacting upon learning. Green will indicate autonomous, professional decision making by the education leader or teacher.
The amber category will indicate applications that require careful consideration to ensure that their adoption does not undermine the role of the teacher or negatively impact upon learning. These will require wider consultation prior to implementation.
Those in the red category will include activities that undermine the role of the teacher and/or negatively impact the learning process and are therefore unacceptable to our members. Applications under the red category are considered inappropriate and/or unsafe.
Further information about the decision-making framework will be provided to members over the coming weeks.