Aneil Peswani, Head of Digital Learning at St Christopher’s School Bahrain, explores the school’s approach to building AI resilience over reliance, teaching students to use AI as a supportive guide rather than a tool that provides all the answers.
When Generative AI first arrived, our initial instinct, like many schools, was caution. We needed to protect our community. However, we quickly realised that simply blocking these tools would not prepare our students for their future. We had to shift from a policing mindset to one of preparation and AI resilience.
We decided to invite the students to help steer the ship. We established a group of “Student AI Pioneers” to work alongside leadership. Their feedback has been vital in shaping our definition of AI resilience. During a recent Year 10 session on the impact of AI reliance on brain development, one student noted, “I realise I now need to be so careful when I use AI and that getting it to think for me has a longer-term impact that I won’t realise until it’s too late.”
That sentiment became the cornerstone of our strategy: AI Resilience, not Reliance. We teach students to view AI as a thinking partner, one that we engage only after we have done the heavy lifting of problem-solving ourselves.
For instance, in our upcoming Year 9 “AI in Action” day, students will collaborate with staff to solve real-world problems. Critical thinking and conceptualising remain the main tasks for the students. Only once they have solidified their ideas will they utilise AI to visually realise them. This ensures the human element remains central to the creative process.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. We learned that you cannot hand over these powerful engines without first teaching the rules of the road. We prioritised AI literacy and AI resilience, focusing on bias and data privacy, before the mechanics.
For fellow educators, our advice is to involve your students immediately. When students understand that AI is there to support and guide, not simply provide answers, the dynamic shifts. AI is an incredibly powerful engine, but our job is to ensure our students remain the pilots.
This article is written by
Aneil Peswani
Head of Digital Learning
Teacher of Design & Technology
St Christopher’s School Bahrain
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