GenAI is no longer a thing of the future for primary school education. It is also present in all levels of the Australian Curriculum Version 9, which specifically mentions AI and “emerging technologies” in subject-specific content descriptors and elaborations (as early as Foundation), Cross Curricular Priorities and General Capabilities. This presents an opportunity to utilise the skill-set of the teacher librarian (TL) to support teachers and students in the responsible, ethical and effective use of genAI across all year levels.
Qualified primary school TLs are uniquely placed to connect to both the Australian Curriculum as well as information and digital literacies. With their curriculum knowledge and pedagogy, plus Masters of Education level information management knowledge and skills, TLs are well-placed to support the school community in a smooth transition to genAI use.
While genAI may be “the next digital revolution” and introduces a new field of consideration for schools, TLs are already instrumental in teaching many of the skills that support this same type of learning through information literacies. TLs have already been developing students’ critical thinking, research and inquiry skills, information-seeking skills, and search engine literacy. All this previous work will provide a solid foundation for students to interact effectively with genAI. In this way, the role of the TL may not change significantly; although, it now includes a new branch of technologies and literacies, such as prompt literacy. An article from MIT states that teaching those foundational critical literacies are going to matter even more now (Klopfer, 2024).
This may be particularly true for primary schools. Studies have found that primary school teachers are more hesitant to use genAI (Collie & Martin, 2024), therefore TLs in primary schools may also have the important task of changing attitudes towards genAI. Also mentioned above, teachers who do not value genAI are less likely to adopt and develop skills; this is where the TL comes in, creating a supportive and collaborative environment for teachers to learn these emerging technologies, and discover the benefits they may bring to the primary school context.
GenAI in schools will create new ways for the TL to engage with students and colleagues by being instrumental in designing and implementing school-wide systematic, scaffolded programs. TLs can build awareness and skills in genAI and monitor students’ development as effective and responsible information users. As emphasised by Dr Kay Oddone of Charles Sturt University on her blog Linking Learning, teacher librarians play a crucial role in supporting both educators and students in developing effective strategies for engaging with information. She lists a series of practical suggestions for schools to utilise the TL to support genAI implementation, such as hosting bite-size information sessions to share strategies, experiences and tips, or after-school Q&As, or posting comments on a whiteboard in the library where students can also engage. With these practical and simple actions, the TL can play a pivotal, frontline role in ensuring the success of the schools’ genAI framework.
Additionally, the TL can explore the ethical issues surrounding genAI; this can begin from Foundation level to support the General Capabilities, Ethical Understanding, and how technology can affect people’s lives, and progress up to Year 6, ensuring students leave for high school as critical information users. Oddone, Garrison and Gagan-Spriggs (2023) suggest the TL tells students of genAI victims, such as the lawyer who based his entire case on precedents ‘hallucinated’ by ChatGPT. For a balanced view, the TL can discuss social benefits, such as the Paris Olympics’ use of genAI to thwart cyberbullying and trolling. Since the concept of the ethics of genAI is in its infancy, the TL must closely watch this development as an important new aspect of the TL role.
There are many more ways that the TL can benefit the school community when transitioning to a genAI world: prompt literacy, teaching algorithmic literacy, lateral reading skills, reinforcing paraphrasing, copyright knowledge, avoiding plagiarism, and supporting early career teachers.
The tectonic plates of the information landscape have shifted and it can be felt in primary classrooms across Australia. Despite being more apprehensive than their secondary school counterparts, many primary teachers are feeling optimistic about genAI and how it may benefit them and their students. Already instrumental in teaching critical thinking and information literacies, TLs are uniquely placed to teach students how to positively engage with genAI. It is widely agreed, that these foundational critical literacy skills are now going to matter even more. Therefore, it may be argued that highly-skilled, qualified TLs are more important than ever.
