York House on AI's benefits for gifted and talented pupils

York House School Headmaster Jon Gray discusses the particular benefits artificial intelligence (AI) will have for challenging and developing gifted and talented pupils

Nurturing every individual child to be the best they can be is something that all good schools strive for. With that in mind, I have always been a great fan of ‘experiences’ in education as having a much greater lasting power and benefit for learning outcomes than straightforward theory.

One area that is continually evolving is technology, in particular AI. Every day the newspaper headlines tell us how the world of business is being disrupted, assisted and excited by the cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence technology. As such, smart organisations are seeing technology solutions taking the lead, where previously staff headcount was relied upon.

For those in education, and for parents and families, the implication is two-fold. Pupils will need to learn to adapt and develop their skillsets for the future job market. Educators will also need to evolve their offerings and mindset. One interesting view I heard recently is that you won’t lose your job to AI, you’ll lose it to the person who uses that technology to a more advanced level than you.

Exceptional performers – essentially those children always in danger of being both ‘bright and bored’ – are in as much if not more need of this evolution. They will be especially well placed and open to exciting new technologies and educational methods such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and robotics.

These technologies create a new space for the gifted learner to take on a more active position when it comes to their learning. The most able learners have a greater tendency to question, hypothesise, synthesise, resolve anomalies and invent. That AI shift, which is well underway in many schools, challenges existing methods. With knowledge at our fingertips, new teaching methods must embrace the opportunity to include more immersive and multi-sensory content in the classroom – much of which will awaken the most able and gifted, whilst still being of real benefit to all learners. 

“The AI shift supports the most able, who have a greater tendency to question, hypothesise, synthesise, resolve anomalies and invent”

It is key for our students to immerse themselves in the new possibilities change creates. The mainstream popularisation of AI and digitally connected platforms are just two examples that give rise to a wealth of opportunities. Apps, social media and remote learning are re-sculpting the landscape where we have traditionally worked and socialised. 

Within a school context, we must ensure that our curriculum is sharply relevant and responsive. Fostering a creative culture and a growth mindset for lifelong learning will equip our students to stay focused. We should share possible career paths and consider the implications of such advancements as they develop. 

It is also important to work alongside tech organisations that can share knowledge and practical insights via technology workshops with our students. This opens up opportunities to engage educationally with cutting-edge technology, including VR, AR and gaming simulations. 

Open-ended physical devices, such as the BBC Microbit, offer a wealth of creative outcomes. By teaching the fundamentals of how AI works and considering related ethical considerations, our students can look beyond the headlines that often dominate debate and begin to understand not only how such systems actually work, but also the positive impact they could have on our future society.

York House School york-house.com

Further reading: Teaching tomorrow’s skillset