‘The most formidable change we have seen so far is consistency in AI use. Along with staff, students from years 5 to 12 are now working off the same scale and AI use is thought about before a task is set, not discussed after.’ In this article, Jill Fitzsimons, Director of Teaching and Learning at Loreto Toorak shares how staff and students have been supported to use AI, and how the impact of AI is shaping assessment.
Being a Catholic educational institution guided by vision and values has always pushed us to meet change with an open mind rather than fear. Implementing AI at Loreto Toorak has been the biggest test of this so far.
The hardest part was deciphering what it now means to ‘know’ something at school. Students can easily get to the final answer, but can they show their critical thinking, understanding and judgment of how they got there? From this, we knew a strict AI policy was not the most effective approach for us; we needed to shift what we were asking our students to do to get to the answer.
We started with the task, not a tool
A stronger acceptable-use AI policy may reduce misuse, but it does not solve the problem of what students are being asked to do in class. This is where we started.
Beginning in 2024, our initial work focused on building awareness and deepening our understanding of AI’s capabilities by enlisting the support of Dr Leon Furze. At the time, Leon was completing his PhD on the implications of generative artificial intelligence for writing instruction and education. He is an influential and visible voice in the educational sphere, providing great insights for us to build from.
Leon ran professional development for the school on how AI was already being integrated into schools and what we needed to be mindful of when incorporating AI into teaching, learning and assessment. He was also upfront about the potential disruption ahead and how we could combat this.
Leon asked us to consider the importance of assessment design to ensure assessment validity by looking at how quickly AI could create an artwork or podcast. We also considered adjusting design tasks to have both digital and hand-made components. For example, in a year 9 science activity, students were originally asked to create an e-magazine which explained the development of the atom and radioactive isotopes. We adjusted this task to now involve completing a digital design task in Canva and then balancing this with a hand-drawn comic requiring no AI assistance, to ensure there were multiple points in the assessment task for students to demonstrate what they knew and could do.
Later in the year, Leon came back to run more targeted sessions, directly consulting with our staff on policy and how to rethink assessment across both the upper primary and secondary classrooms. This is when I really noticed our policy beginning to come to life. For example, staff shared examples of how they were clarifying appropriate levels of AI use and explicitly teaching how AI could or could not be used in a task. In Health Sciences, a formative task was redesigned so students first identified dimensions of health and wellbeing in a case study, then applied this learning by creating their own, with the option of AI support. The class later used these for revision.
Providing staff with clear direction
Leon’s guidance continued to shape our work in 2025. This is when we rewrote our Teaching and Learning Policy to provide staff with clear direction on generative AI at Loreto Toorak, ensuring it enhanced learning while protecting student thinking. This aligned with the 6 principles in the Department of Education’s(2025) Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Schools.
Across 2025 and 2026, we rolled out the Loreto Toorak AI Assessment Scale, working with teachers from years 5 to 12 on strengthening processes and ensuring consistent guidance on when AI can and cannot be used, written in student-friendly language. Coupled with an Assessment Design Checklist, this helped staff to create or review assessment tasks while considering AI’s role. Both the scale and checklist are influenced by the Victorian ICT Network for Education’s Guidelines on Generative AI Use (2026).
This approach sits within a wider shift in secondary education toward inquiry-based and cross-disciplinary learning. With this, students are working through real problems and solving questions that do not have a neat answer. For Loreto Toorak, this meant assessment had to showcase not just the final answer, but how students got there.
How our learning and assessment tasks are evolving
As AI changes what we ‘know’ about something, memorisation and routine tasks are less valuable. We want to see students exploring deep understanding, critical thinking and judgement. With this in mind, we now assess collaboration, self-management, communication and creative problem solving, not just assuming these are happening in the background. This is further shown by providing a wider choice of core subjects and electives that allow students to pursue curiosity, agency and specialisation, preparing them for a future where adaptability matters alongside knowledge.
In the year 9 Humanities unit during the Yan Balit Project (‘Walk Strong’), students use a Design Thinking Model introduced to them by Monash University to identify, research, design and present a project which addresses an issue, challenge or problem in the world of the student’s choice. The task culminates in them having to present their work to younger students, staff and their families – and answer questions.
Our Performing Arts Faculty has also created a new year 10 elective – Theatre Studies Design. In this elective, students investigate how designers interpret scripts, themes, and characters to create engaging stage environments. They experiment with design techniques, research professional theatre productions, and develop their own design concepts. Students will also analyse how design elements influence storytelling and audience interpretation. By the end of the semester, students develop a design portfolio that documents their creative process, ideas and reflections.
We strongly recommend that students showcase reasoning, explanation and reflection in their thinking, as this is something AI cannot produce on their behalf. Our Mandeville Learning Centre Library team supports students to develop strong research and information skills and where AI can be a genuine tool, not a shortcut to the final answer. Younger students in years 3 to 6 are introduced to AI through features already within approved educational applications like Adobe Express, Canva tools and Microsoft 365 features. Through organisations like cool.org and in line with ACARA’s guidance (ACARA, n.d.), our staff learning continues by building teachers' understanding on what responsible AI use looks like.
Where we are now
The most formidable change we have seen so far is consistency in use of the AI Assessment Scale. Along with staff, students from years 5 to 12 are now working off the same scale and AI use is thought about before a task is set, not discussed after.
Through regular whole staff profession learning, as well as discussions at a faculty level, staff are continually reflecting on the potential impact of AI on their curriculum and assessment tasks. This ongoing professional discussion is now regular practice. Staff are consistently building in more opportunities for students to make the learning visible and to highlight the scaffolding of their learning.
Staff understand that students can safely use AI built into our current educational applications highlighted in our Loreto Toorak Accredited Digital Toolkit. These specific applications have carefully integrated AI tools for student use in the educational setting and have been developed with strict guardrails in place.
Staff have reported feeling more confident knowing that the applications we have available for staff and students at Loreto Toorak are safe to use. Therefore, staff are able to teach our students effective use of AI through such resources.
Parents have reported that they are pleased their daughters are being introduced to AI in a safe way through the school's accredited applications and that the use of AI is being carefully planned throughout the curriculum, including through Information Literacy programs run by Library teachers, as well as being covered as part of our cyber safety curriculum. Conversation about how AI is used – with the framework of the scale – helps us to educate young minds to be aware of their use of AI tools and encourage them to ask: ‘should this task be carried out by a human?’
We have also discussed Pope Leo’s first encyclical, ‘Magnifica humanitas: On safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence’ with its key message – ‘AI must serve humanity not concentrate power’ and reminders to ‘remain human’ (Piro, 2026).
This is not a closed chapter. As technology keeps evolving, the work has to evolve with it. We are still improving the Assessment Scale as staff work with it more. Furthermore, Loreto Toorak’s involvement in the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) AI in School Education Network continues to inform our strategic work.
If there is one thing we are certain of, the strictest AI use policy was never the correct approach for us. We want our students to leave with the skills to think clearly, argue well and make decisions they can stand behind.
References
ACARA (n.d.). Curriculum connections. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/curriculum-connections
Department of Education. (2025). Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools. https://www.education.gov.au/schooling/resources/australian-framework-generative-artificial-intelligence-ai-schools
Furze, L. (2026, April). Guidelines for Generative AI use in Schools. Victorian ICT Network for Education (VINE). https://vine.vic.edu.au/Generative-AI-Guidelines
Piro, I. (2026, May 25). Pope Leo’s ‘Magnifica humanitas’: AI must serve humanity not concentrate power. Vatican News. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-leo-xiv-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-ai.html
How has AI impacted how you assess skills like collaboration, communication and problem solving?
As AI tools continue to evolve, what opportunities do staff in your school have to discuss, test and refine approaches to curriculum and assessment?
