The VIS leadership team and staff members are developing a strategy to thoughtfully integrate artificial intelligence into the learning and teaching process. We aim to utilize AI to augment and enrich learning while prioritizing opportunities for cognitive struggle and building a case against finding the easy way out.
Considering these aims, we are carefully contemplating the recent advancements in artificial intelligence and its implications for education. Fundamentally, we recognize that for a human to become an expert in any field, they need to be able to reason and communicate at a high level. We aspire for our students to internalize at a young age that to be academically successful at VIS, it must be the student, and not the machine that produces assessed work. Our students are proud of their academic performance, and we understand that asking them to overcome the temptation to utilize artificial intelligence tools for school work is not a realistic task.
As such, VIS is making a commitment to assess students, in person, and with clear guidelines as to what technology may be used. We believe that through this policy – over time – students will view artificial intelligence as a means to enhance their learning, but not as a substitute for thinking. We acknowledge the potential for artificial intelligence to act as a personalised tutor when used effectively, and we encourage and will educate our learners in this practice in the day to day course of learning. But don’t mistake this for premature integration. We are actively building a use case for AI that is developmentally aligned with pedagogical goals.
We acknowledge concerns about the potential for AI to diminish originality. Protecting our children from the pitfalls of overusing AI is a priority. We must ensure that AI enhances, rather than replaces, their innate ability to create and imagine. AI cannot replace what we have in our heads, and imagination is crucial to raising critical thinkers. We anticipate that this will ensure our student body is fluent in the use of the technological skills needed to be competitive in the future workforce.
This commitment to developing essential skills, however, must be approached with careful consideration and intentionality. Ultimately, our approach to AI at VIS is rooted in balance. We are dedicated to guiding students in using AI as a means for growth and enrichment, rather than as a replacement for their own intellectual development. By fostering self-discipline and self-awareness in technology use, we believe our students will develop the vital skills and resilience needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving landscape. We see a future where our students confidently and responsibly leverage AI to unlock their full potential.
This perspective is echoed by our students themselves. In the words of a grade 6 VIS student, the use of AI to extend learning rather than replace learning “comes down to self-discipline and self-awareness”.
