{"id":73254,"date":"2026-08-16T21:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/73254\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T21:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T21:00:10","slug":"why-alternative-schools-are-not-rushing-to-bring-ai-into-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/73254\/","title":{"rendered":"Why alternative schools are not rushing to bring AI into classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The head of one of Australia’s major alternative school systems has ruled out creating an artificial intelligence (AI) learning tool for its teachers and students.<\/p>\n

Generative-AI learning tools have already been created for public schools in New South Wales<\/a>, South Australia<\/a>, and Queensland but concerns about the technology’s impact on critical thinking are growing.<\/p>\n

Steiner Education Australia CEO Andrew Hill said their schools would not be following suit.<\/p>\n

\"Violin\"<\/p>\n

The head of Steiner Education Australia says the sector will not be designing an in-house generative-AI tool for its students and teachers. (ABC News: Charlie McLean)<\/p>\n

“Anything which is going to compromise healthy growth of the brain, we would take a cautionary view towards,” Mr Hill said.<\/p>\n

Supporters of embedding AI in schools say it reduces teacher workloads and allows senior students to study more effectively.<\/p>\n

But early research has suggested an over-reliance on AI reduces independent problem solving and critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

This week, the NSW government announced it would consider banning take-home assessments as part of a broader review into AI’s impact on student learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Complicated ethics<\/p>\n

Data from the OECD suggests most Australian teachers have at least experimented with AI.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

In a 2024 education report, two-thirds of Australian teachers reported having used it in their work; the fourth highest proportion among the international organisation’s 38 member countries.<\/p>\n

Some teachers are boycotting the technology, unable to look past the public criticism that has accompanied the AI boom.<\/p>\n

Mark*, a south-east Queensland state primary school teacher, scaled back his use of AI because he felt it brought a cold, lifeless feel to the classroom.<\/p>\n

“I used it a bit last year to create things to read from, like an example paragraph to practise reading,” he said.<\/p>\n

“And then I noticed it has that AI voice. I really started to notice it, and I thought ‘this isn’t great’, I don’t want kids to learn how to read through this really sterile way of using language.”<\/p>\n

A growing number of students are pushing back against the technology too.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In June, some Sunshine Coast students walked out of school to protest AI and data centres (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)<\/p>\n

In June, high school and university students protested outside the construction site of a new data centre at the Sunshine Coast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Students who attended cited anxieties around environmental impacts and diminishing future job prospects for young people.<\/p>\n

Fears over cognitive ‘offloading’<\/p>\n

South-east Queensland teacher Lauren* said she was reluctant to role-model a technology that could be impacting her students’ ability to think for themselves.<\/p>\n

“I teach English and the humanities \u2014 those subjects exist to teach critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n

“If we’re outsourcing that to computers then what are we doing?”<\/p>\n

Some teachers are in an AI battle. But could it help them?<\/a><\/p>\n

Once banned, generative AI chatbots are now present in some Australian classrooms. But experts warn we need to approach their integration with caution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Queensland, the Department of Education uses a generative AI tool called Corella which is available to teachers and students in years 7-10, although students need parental consent.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the department said Corella was built around a Socratic teaching method, which guides students “rather than instantly providing them with full, direct responses”.<\/p>\n

“This encourages critical thinking and problem solving \u2026 it is intended to support learning, not replace student thinking, effort or creativity,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“The department continues to monitor the rollout of Corella and developments in AI and education across jurisdictions.”<\/p>\n

The impact of AI on critical thinking skills has been the subject of a growing body of research.<\/p>\n

A 2025 UK study which surveyed more than 600 people found young people with high dependence on AI scored lower in critical thinking tests than older people with lower AI dependence.<\/p>\n

University of Queensland Education Psychology Professor Jason Lodge said cognitive “offloading” was the biggest risk of embedding AI deeper into schools.<\/p>\n

“The brain in many ways is like the body. The harder you work it, the better it gets at doing what it does,” he said.<\/p>\n

“And AI provides shortcuts that mean some students are not doing the work that’s necessary.”<\/p>\n

\"Head<\/p>\n

The University of Queensland’s Jason Lodge has studied both positive and negative forms of “cognitive offloading” made possible by AI. (Supplied: Professor Jason Lodge)<\/p>\n

But he said those shortcuts could also be beneficial.<\/p>\n

“If you’re writing something, not necessarily in English class and grammar and spelling is not a key part of the lesson, then maybe it’s OK if we’re getting an AI tool to help with structuring grammar and correcting spelling,” Mr Lodge added.<\/p>\n

“There can be very beneficial offloading that allows students and teachers to focus on the more important parts of the lesson.”<\/p>\n

At the Samford Valley Steiner School, north-west of Brisbane, school director Andrew Curry said designing lessons without intellectual shortcuts had never been more important.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Steiner education model encourages outdoor learning experiences for students. (ABC News: Charlie Mclean)<\/p>\n

He teaches year 10 students trigonometry by taking surveying instruments called theodolites to measure angles at a nearby creek.<\/p>\n

“They’re creating a map with traditional techniques,” Mr Curry said.<\/p>\n

“[It] could be done with drones and AI in probably half the time, but the students wouldn’t get all of that richness of learning in that time. They’d just get a map.”<\/p>\n

Super-powered teachers<\/p>\n

Ali Kadri, chief executive of Queensland independent school the Islamic College of Brisbane, said students becoming dependent on AI would not be the fault of the technology.<\/p>\n

“It’s the fault of how some people are taught or some people teach,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ali<\/p>\n

Islamic College of Brisbane chief executive Ali Kadri said students becoming dependent on AI would not be the fault of the technology. (ABC News: Charlie McLean)<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old is also a tech entrepreneur and is designing an in-house AI assistant for the college called Aladin; his answer to the comic book hero Tony Stark’s digital sidekick Jarvis.<\/p>\n

As well as generating learning materials, Mr Kadri claims Aladin will be able to predict the likely future performance of students based on past grades and attendance.<\/p>\n

“If we identify the student is going to do worse than what they’ve been doing so far, then the machine learning model will trigger an alert \u2026 a staff member will then intervene and assign a strategy to address that issue,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think it \u2026 gives teachers superpowers.”<\/p>\n

The Islamic College of Brisbane’s head of junior secondary Vincent Parry said, although initially a sceptic, he had started to discover where AI could work in the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Faculty head and English teacher Vincent Parry has started integrating AI into his workflow. (ABC News: Charlie Mclean)<\/p>\n

He said he was encouraging his students to use AI to simplify explanations they didn’t understand, which was particularly helpful for students for whom English was a second language.<\/p>\n

“Once you take control of it rather than let it take control of you, it’s a very valuable tool,” he said.<\/p>\n

From teachers to support workers<\/p>\n

Looking into the future, Ali Kadri sees a world where AI has changed the teaching profession entirely.<\/p>\n

“At this point in time a student does not have to go to a classroom to get their question answered \u2026 they can go to an AI model, which is much more knowledgeable and smarter in information that an average teacher would be,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think there is a world where education looks like a teacher going into a classroom full of students and instead of delivering content, they’ll be mentoring and coaching students while they learn, study and thrive.”<\/p>\n

Samford Valley Steiner school director Andrew Curry said such a world might improve test scores but wouldn’t help students.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Samford Valley Steiner school director Andrew Curry said education should ultimately be about learning, not results. (ABC News: Charlie Mclean)<\/p>\n

“You might get results, but you wouldn’t get understanding.<\/p>\n

“And the difference is where is your focus? Is your focus on passing a test? On accessing uni? Or is your focus on the student actually understanding the content that’s being presented to them?”<\/p>\n

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