From the Principal

Like many industries, education is currently in a phase of disruption.

COVID-19 and the subsequent development of online learning fast-tracked teachers in developing their capabilities in this area, both technically and in developing learning experiences suitable for the online platform. Although the preference is always face-to-face teaching, positive remnants from the COVID era are still impacting on and changing curriculum delivery.

The current human resource shortage has impacted schools too, in the recruitment of both teaching and support staff. School staff are sometimes being forced to do more with less support as jobs are advertised and readvertised. In some teaching areas, it is almost impossible to find qualified staff. And now, ChatGPT has arrived, threatening the current suite of assessment and the uncertainty of students’ authorship. Artificial intelligence has infiltrated schools and universities and is here to stay. At St Margaret’s, we are not afraid of it, and we will embrace this change as we have done for the past 128 years.

Learning content or producing content is a very narrow demonstration of an education. Those in fear of things like ChatGPT are those who still believe that the school system remains very much like the factory model of schooling of the late 18th, and the 19th and 20th centuries. No one from that era would really relate to a modern classroom. Certainly, some elements will be recognised, such as desks and students. However, I believe they would be very much in awe of the following:

• the quality student/teacher relationships

• the use of technology

• the emphasis on collaborative processes and skill development over content

• the value placed on creativity and critical thinking

• the variety of learning experiences that reveal the facts but do not require retention of all the facts

• the diversity of the student body who want to know how to access the information that they need to navigate the world (rather than trying to learn it all)

• the range of extra-curricular activities.

The days of the store (rote learning of facts and content) and pour (teacher exposition at the front of the classroom) approach to teaching and learning are long gone. The days of regurgitating the so-called facts and the one-sided view of the content in essays are also gone. A teacher’s role is to facilitate and develop a student’s ability and willingness to be thoughtful and critical about the information they read; this includes anything downloaded from ChatGPT.

Artificial Intelligence will revolutionise teaching and assist learning. Instead of being fearful, we will, instead, maintain our focus on academic integrity, analysis of the evidence, continual improvement, collaboration, and critical and creative thinking. It is an exciting time to be an educator!

Ros Curtis Principal BA(Hons), DipEd, MLitSt,MEd(Leadership and Management), ASDA, FACE, FACELO, FIML, GAICD