The Australian and Western
Australian Governments are co-funding an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in
education pilot program to reduce teacher workloads in WA.
The $4.7 million initiative will use
AI at eight WA schools to reduce lesson planning time so teachers can spend
more time in the classroom and less time doing admin.
Schools in the AI pilot program are:
- Harrisdale
Primary School
- Joseph
Banks Secondary College
- Lesmurdie
Primary School
- School
of Isolated and Distance Education
- Emmanuel
Catholic College
- Ursula
Frayne Catholic College
- Carey
Baptist College
- St
James Anglican School
The Department of Education will
deliver the pilot in partnership with Catholic Education WA, the Association of
Independent Schools of WA, and the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.
The pilot will help reduce admin
workloads for teachers by supporting things like drafting lesson plans and
suggesting learning activities aligned to the national curriculum.
Commonwealth funding, under the
Workload Reduction Fund, will be matched with equal co-investment from the Cook
Government to implement the pilot. The WA non-Government sector will also contribute
$300,000 towards the pilot.
The pilot drew on consultation
with teachers, principals and deputies, school support staff, peak bodies and
unions.
It is part of the Commonwealth's
$30 million Workload Reduction Fund under the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, which Education Ministers agreed to in December 2022.
This initiative will be informed
by the Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Schools,
which assists school communities use generative AI in a safe and effective way.
This builds on the recently signed
Statement of Intent by the Australian and Western Australian Governments to fully and
fairly fund all WA public schools by 2026.
Under the agreement, the most
disadvantaged public schools in WA will be fully funded first. This represents
an additional $777.4 million investment by the Albanese Government in Western
Australian public schools from 2025 to 2029.
Quotes attributable to Federal Education Minister
Jason Clare:
"Teaching is the most important
job in the world.
"The idea that teachers clock on
at 9am and knock off at 3pm is rubbish.
"AI will never replace a great
teacher, but it can help cut down the time they spend doing admin so they can
spend more time in the classroom.
"That's why the Albanese
Government is investing $30 million in the Workload Reduction Fund so they can
maximise their time with students."
Quotes attributable to WA Education Minister Dr Tony
Buti:
"We want our teachers to be teaching our kids.
"To do this, unnecessary administrative burdens must
be reduced, and we hope this new pilot program can support our teachers and
ease their workload.
"We
are determined to create the right conditions for school staff to get on with
their jobs of providing a great education."
