SA Education Dept chief urges teachers to take up ChatGPT

Students are being given the OK to outsource some tasks to an AI that writes like a human – now the education department boss says teachers should do likewise.

South Australian teachers are using AI chatbot ChatGPT to devise lesson plans and communicate with parents, encouraged by the state’s education boss to do so.

Education Department chief executive Martin Westwell has told the Sunday Mail he wants SA teachers to be national leaders when it comes to incorporating AI into the school day.

Mr Westwell believes the technology can also save time on administrative tasks such as corresponding with parents and even report writing.

“So many professions are already using it to do administrative tasks such as writing performance reviews, writing letters, writing reports,” he said.

“It is important for us to create a space for our educators to step into, to have a go and learn what is working well and what’s not so great … for teachers to explore that really gives us a headstart in SA.

The controversial software, which can quickly generate realistic human-like text, is banned in schools in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania.

Education Department chief executive Martin Westwell. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

One primary school teacher at a SA northern-suburbs public school says while she was yet to try using it, a colleague had created several lesson plans.

“Our principal has asked us to play around with it, including how it might be useful in helping explain a concept in a more simple way,” she said.

Mr Westwell says while ChatGPT can “save a bunch of time, it is just one tool”.

“In fact, an AI lesson planning tool already exists that allows educators to put in what they want to teach and it will generate a lesson plan and resources,” he said.

“(But) teachers must use their professional expertise to turn this into something that is going to be meaningful for their cohort of kids based on things such as what the kids have learned in the past, what they tend to be really enthusiastic and what their range of abilities are.

“Yes, (ChatGPT) is great as a starting point but there are some downsides to it as well … it is not always accurate (and) the curriculum isn’t just about knowledge and skills … I wouldn’t want the AI to be narrowing our curriculum planning just to basic skills and knowledge.”

Beyond helping a teacher come up with a lesson plan, it can help write letters and reports.

Students using an iPad in class. Picture: Istock

“It can provide a good framework for a letter to a parent (but) the important bit is, once the teacher has the outline, to use their professional judgment and human connection to take that letter and nuance it, so that it actually speaks with their voice, rather than the voice of a computer,” he said.

The state’s independent schools are also experimenting with the technology.

Pulteney Grammar School principal Cameron Bacholer believes “the potential for AI to transform routine procedural tasks in schools is enormous”.

“Our approach is to focus on designing learning opportunities that will harness the power of AI and aid students to learn better, quicker, more deeply than ever ... as leaders in education we need to embrace tools as an opportunity,” he said.

“It is likely that, similar to Gutenberg’s printing press of 1436, this represents a watershed moment for how humanity engages with knowledge.”