Inside the unique, yet evidence-based, AI curriculum at Hills Christian Community School

Artificial Intelligence (AI) lessons at Hills Christian Community School (HILLS) in South Australia are not what you might expect.

Students often find themselves learning outside, somewhere within the school’s 19 acres of green space, exploring the underground networks that connect trees.

These natural systems help them understand complex concepts in AI and digital technologies, which work in a similar fashion, explains Colleen O’Rourke, HILLS’s Leader of Digital Innovation.

“We draw parallels between systems in nature and digital systems. We explore swarm behaviour and underground tree networks, then compare these with how information moves through connected digital networks,” Colleen said.

While students still use digital tools, nature becomes their muse for understanding AI. Colleen says this makes sense, with AI concepts, themselves, often inspired by natural systems.

“Drawing on those connections helps kids make sense of how these complex systems work,” she said.

“The added bonus, of course, is that it helps children find the right balance when it comes to their screen use.”

Inspiring sustainable AI

The outdoor AI lessons have another motive too. Fostering students’ engagement with nature helps deepen their appreciation of it. In turn this inspires students when developing digital solutions for sustainability.

“When students are coming up with new ideas for how to apply AI in the real world, we often see that connection with nature reflected in the solutions they design,” Colleen added.

“Our kids say to us, ‘wow digital systems are incredible, but natural systems are incredible too. I did not know trees are connected in that way’.

“And that connection is something we want to cultivate alongside their digital and AI literacy. We want them to understand technology and start to care about our planet because of it too.”

Using AI for sustainable purposes is something HILLS students have already put into practice.

As part of a 10-year project, Year 9 students are developing annual virtual reality (VR) river restoration tours for the section of the Onkaparinga River that runs through their school, thoughtfully integrating AI.

“They designed and configured AI avatar agents that were experts on the restoration efforts focusing on the rabbit problem, cool burning practices for regeneration of native flora as well as the annual data collected on the pH-level and turbidity of the river,” Colleen said.

“It was great, because it taught them how AI chatbots work, how to train them well, and how AI can serve the environment. And this of course was a pen to paper exercise, before they had even begun interacting with the technology.”

AI for social good

HILLS’ AI literacy units are informed by research, which highlights the importance of students seeing how AI can be applied for social good.

Alongside nature-inspired lessons, this research has helped shape a range of AI-supported initiatives at the school.

“We sponsor hospital schools and build virtual tours with chatbots where students can have a window outside of their world. We have used AI to build storybooks and our year 7s have gone out and taught students at the hospital schools how to use the tools.”

The school also uses AI to support VR pen pal exchanges with various countries around the world. Currently, HILLS is sponsoring schools in Afghanistan, the US, and New Zealand to help them build VR tours of their local context.

“Through these tours they can share about ‘me, my place, my culture’ and offer a glimpse of what life is like in their country.

“Where AI comes in is by breaking down the language barriers because the chat bots within it can speak different languages. So, our students get to build global citizenship, empathy, and AI is the bridge for that.”

AI for inclusion

HILLS's future-focused approach to AI is also being used for inclusion purposes, with the technology proving a game changer for one student with cerebral palsy.

The student who has vision impairments and communicates through a head switch has found joy in learning through AI-generated music.

“He loves country music and we’ve been able to deliver learning material to him this way, which has changed the game for his access,” Colleen said.

The school has also built AI tools that support his individual learning needs and link directly with his communication switch.

“They enable him to engage with the learning experiences and communicate his thinking. We’re continuing to explore emerging AI-enabled accessibility technologies that could further support his access to learning,” Colleen added.

An ideal age

While much of the conversation around AI in education has focused on older students, Colleen believes the primary years are crucial for building foundational AI literacy.

At HILLS, this guided introduction to AI literacy in the primary years takes place within dedicated Digital Technologies lessons, where concepts can be carefully scaffolded in an age and developmentally appropriate way.

“It’s important because children this age are already hearing a lot of dialogue about AI. I have personally heard younger students saying things like, ‘oh, that's definitely AI’ [when commenting on something they have seen online]. And they're just learning this from at home exposure.

“If teachers aren't helping students understand AI, then they won’t have those foundations before they start engaging with it in the secondary years. They're not going to know how to critique it or understand it as a concept.”

Developmental tailoring

While some of HILLS’s lesson material might sound advanced, Colleen insists each AI task is developmentally appropriate and that AI education be tailored for different ages.

“Teaching children about AI doesn’t have to mean putting AI tools in their hands. With younger students, it can be as simple as teachers exploring what is artificial and what is natural, or how humans and computers make decisions differently. Teachers can model responsible and ethical uses of AI, allowing students to build understanding without needing to use the tools themselves.

“We then scaffold those concepts as students get older, building towards machine learning in Year 6 and, by Year 7, exploring how generative AI works, including its limitations and how to critically evaluate what it produces.

“The key is, it needs to be balanced and of course age and developmentally appropriate.”

Sharing more about what this looks like in practice, Colleen will present at the upcoming AI in Education South Australia Conference.

This year’s event will be held 19 November at the Crowne Plaza Adelaide.

Learn more and register your tickets here.