Inquiry skills and the whole child - powerful in-school collaborations

I was supposed to attend the City of Schools Conference: Ethical AI in Education, today. Everything was ready, train booked, hotel booked, 4 min provocation written and ready to go and then... a family emergency. Thankfully all is now well, but it meant that I had to give this conference a miss. Family comes first.

However, all was not lost, my wonderful podcast co-host and school librarian Ruth Maloney accepted the challenge to read out my provocation and delivered it like a pro... I am very grateful that she gave school librarians a voice at this conference on my behalf.

I couldn't share it there so I wanted to share it with you...

Inquiry Skills and the Whole Child - Powerful In-School Collaborations

AI Generated Picture (I need to get better at this)

It takes a village to raise a child, and the same is true for educating one. In today’s world, no teacher can or should do this alone.

Over the last 2 years we have heard a lot about how AI is going to make teaching easier, how it will remove some of the more mundane tasks and how teachers will get some of their time back. The ability for teachers to set assignments and grade using AI and the ability of students to use AI to write these assignments, making both the assignment and the grade pointless. 

We have also heard about our student's creativity being enhanced and chatbots supporting students in miraculous ways. But when you strip this all away what remains? A tool called Artificial intelligence…one that is only as effective as the skills we use to guide it.

The skills our students need are the same as ever, and school librarians have been talking about and teaching them for decades. Information literacy for example is the skill to find, access and use information ethically. Digital literacy includes the online world too. AI literacy is just another extension of these. 

But tackling these challenges can’t be done in isolation. School Librarians need partners in this effort, and that’s where teachers come in. Together, school librarians and teachers form a powerful team to guide students through the complexities of AI and I want to explain how this can be done through inquiry-based learning.

The school library is a hub for developing critical thinking and media literacy skills. To achieve this effectively and strategically it is important to have the right tools. One of these is FOSIL (Framework Of Skills for Inquiry Learning). FOSIL is a free skills framework from reception to year 13. It provides the building blocks that empowers students to take control of their learning by asking the right questions, seeking credible information, evaluating it critically and enabling them to form their own opinions. When it comes to navigating complex topics like AI bias and fake news, FOSIL is invaluable. 

However, for FOSIL to be truly effective, it requires collaboration between teachers and librarians. Teachers bring deep knowledge of curriculum, while librarians specialise in inquiry learning. Together, they design and implement projects that engage students in critical thinking and inquiry. This kind of deep, inquiry-based learning transforms students from passive recipients of information into active, thoughtful learners. It is in the use of school library resources, with the support of librarians and teachers, that this transformation happens.

In a world where AI is shaping the information we see—whether through search engines, social media, or even personalised news feeds—students need more than just access to information. They need a clear, structured approach to critically evaluating that information.

This ties into the broader portraits of the learner. Inquiry skills and the whole child is the idea that our students should not only be curious and knowledgeable but also ethical and reflective in their learning. FOSIL helps develop these traits, creating learners who can question and critically engage with the world around them, including the content driven by AI.

The partnership between teachers and librarians also extends to helping students navigate the ethical implications of AI bias. Working together, they can guide students through complex ethical discussions about how AI influences society, preparing students to become not just knowledgeable, but thoughtful digital citizens.

Through this inquiry-driven approach, we are preparing a generation of students who are not only media literate but also ethically informed, ready to face the complexities of a digital world.

In conclusion…(or your provocative statement is…)

Recognising the expertise of school librarians is key to ensuring students develop the full range of skills needed to tackle the challenges of AI. Librarians have long addressed the ethical questions now posed by AI through inquiry-based learning. Bringing them into these critical conversations can both answer pressing questions and unlock new avenues of learning for students.

What do you think?

Is this statement correct? Can school librarians live up to this?