Maintaining critical and creative thinking with an AI-based curriculum

As more schools lean on AI as a teaching, learning and assessment aid, concerns that it may stunt critical or creative thinking are persisting. But, what if there was a way to use AI to foster these skills?

Roshea Buksh, Assistant Principal at San Damiano College, is proving that there is, and is empowering educators with her unique AI-based curriculum.

“We know that students will likely use AI, with or without our endorsement, so rather than avoiding it, it pays to embrace – and then safeguard – the technology. And by that I mean, ensuring it’s not used as a crutch to replicate existing work,” she said.

So, which safeguards does Ms Buksh use to ensure AI supports all forms of learning?

Critical thinking

While Ms Buksh believes generative AI has use as a research or revision aid, she says true learning happens when students are encouraged to interrogate its output.

At San Damiano, AI is primarily used for research amalgamation, with students given specific, analytical tasks to verify the AI’s ‘understanding and analysis’.

“We use Google Labs, which can analyse hundreds of academic papers at once, and summarise their findings out loud it in ten or so minutes, in what sounds like a podcast.

“We then encourage students to come up with curiosity questions. They’ll consider any biases the AI might have, whether or not it is favouring some sources above others, and how thoroughly and carefully it has interpreted the literature.

“It’s great, because it allows students to get to the nitty gritty of critical thinking – using intellectual virtues – without losing the bulk of the lesson to research. We can do all of this in a 60 minute class quite comfortably.”

One teacher has already trialled the approach with a year ten class, on youth justice.

Students used the AI to investigate the Liberal National Party’s agenda on adult crime and, with the help of original articles, assessed whether the AIs knowledge contained any political bias.

“This is a research-heavy area which would take lots of time to condense – time the students don’t have. But the chatbot has now reduced all that into a 10 minute podcast.

“Students look at the podcast and source documents; interact with the bot, and then use Harvard thinking routines to explore claim, evidence and reasoning.”

Ms Buksh also uses Peter Ellerton’s ‘values of inquiry’ to guide students’ critical thinking:

• Clarity: Ensuring that communication is clear and understandable.

• Accuracy: Representing information correctly and aligning it closely with its original meaning.

• Precision: Being specific and intentional with language to avoid misunderstandings.

• Depth: Providing detailed information and thorough explanations to fully develop points.

• Breadth: Covering a diverse range of relevant content and perspectives.

• Relevance: Choosing information that directly relates to the topic at hand.

• Significance: Focusing on the most important and meaningful aspects of the topic.

• Coherence: Structuring arguments logically so that each point builds towards the overall intended meaning.

“These values help students and teachers evaluate and improve the quality of thinking and inquiry whilst engaging with AI sources,” Ms Buksh said.

Creativity

After interrogating the AI output, students are then well-placed to write their own content, and formulate questions for further research. In doing so, they can hone their creative skills, Ms Buksh says.

“There are two forms of creativity here – one is literacy, the other is research innovation. And in both examples, the AI has been a help, not a hindrance.

“It has actually fostered the skill better than a traditional exercise might have, because the students have a deeper knowledge of the subject material and can be more confident in formulating their own content and ideas.”

AI also enhances students’ agency by generating creative prompts, transforming chatbots into sources of inspiration rather than mere answer banks, she says.

“This approach encourages students to use their creative thinking to build on these ideas, sparking further curiosity and possibilities.

“By fostering a tinkerer’s mindset, students are guided to take control and be entrepreneurial in their learning.

“This exciting space allows students to explore and innovate, enhancing their sense of agency. We’ve observed this with our Year 10 students, who are coming up with potential solutions to social and legal issues.”

Lesson planning

By feeding AI with key prompts and essential curriculum documents, teachers can also use the AI to write customised lesson plans – an approach that slashes hours off their weekly workloads.

Ms Buksh says she uses evidence-based practices to maintain integrity within this approach.

“We incorporate the University of Queensland’s ‘Teaching for Thinking’ requirements, such as values of inquiry, cognitive skills, and intellectual virtues, to engage the heart, mind, and soul of our learners.

“Additionally, the AITSL classroom continuum, which enhances teaching methods and support professional growth,” she said.

Further insight

Talking more about her AI approach, Roshea Buksh will present at the upcoming AI in Education Conference.

Held in Brisbane on 28th November, the event follows the success of the AI in Education Conferences in Sydney and Melbourne.

Joining Roshea on stage key speakers such as Hassan Khosravi, Associate Professor in Data Science and AI in Education, Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of Queensland; and Kerry Daud, Head of Faculty – E-Learning, Research, Technology and Design, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School.

This gathering of educators, researchers, and policymakers, will discuss the impact of Generative AI in Queensland and its role in reshaping the future of education.

Learn more and register your tickets here.

About Roshea Buksh

Roshea is Assistant Principal for Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Inclusion at San Damiano College. She holds a master in educational leadership and educational counselling, and has almost twenty years’ teaching experience, ten of which have been in senior leadership roles.

Roshea’s recent collaboration and action research with the University of Queensland has been pivotal in the realm of technology-powered learning. With a focus on thinking dispositions, Roshea empowers learners to become critical thinkers rather than passive consumers.