Rationale
Envisioned as a three-year targeted strategic research focus, the first half of 2026 will establish frameworks for teaching in an AI world, and research into the impacts of generative AI on young minds which is being launched through a Rapid Literature Review conducted by academics at The University of Sydney. Various internal and external projects are already underway to assess the state of play and the impact of current innovations.
Collaborations are being developed with academic institutions (universities and schools) in Australia and abroad. Contact us now to learn more or participate.
AI, Learning, and the Developing Person may explore questions such as:
- How is generative artificial intelligence reshaping the intellectual formation, thinking habits, and learning processes of young people?
- What vision of human development, integrity, and wisdom should guide schools as they integrate AI into teaching, learning, and assessment?
- How can schools respond strategically to AI in ways that cultivate discernment, preserve independent thinking, and promote human flourishing in an increasingly AI-mediated world?
Young people, learning, and GenAI: A rapid literature review and implications for PreK-12 Education
Despite the increasing volume of academic literature on the impact of AI in learning, it was identified that there was no clear collation of the evidence with regards to the impact of AI on learning for school-aged students (PreK-12). Therefore through the first half of 2026 the Barker Institute partnered with academics at the University of Sydney to produce this rapid literature review.
This report, and launch webinar, are now publicly available to educators, policy makers, and parents to ensure we collectively care for our young people in the best possible way.
Published Report
975 publications were screened and 271 met the selection criteria for inclusion which were synthesised to produce the 52-page report.
Click here to dowload the full report.
Webinars:
The webinars (held in early August) were split into two parts. First, the authors presented the academic findings including outcomes, conditions, and recommendations. Then a team of Barker staff explained how already the academic evidence has impacted practice including influencing teaching and learning, carefully supporting primary school students, and in assessment.
Watch the webinar here.
Podcast:
Three of the authors, including Matthew Hill from the Barker Institute, were interviewed on the "AI in Educaiton" podcast for the eposide entitled "When Does AI Help Learning - and When Does It Replace It?". You can listen with the player below or to the eposide on ost popular podcast apps.
A chance to focus on what is most important
It is our position that the prevelence of AI is an opporunity. Yes, possibly, an opportunity to enhance learning and achievement, but more importantly an opportunity to refocus education on what we most value. Education was never about memorising facts, rather it was about learning to engage meaningfully with the world and each other, including development of character, confidence, and capability. Issues investigated include:
- What is a Christian response to AI?
- What are good examples of pedagogiy and assessment that elicit meaningful student thinking?
- How are student attitudes changing with regards to AI?
- How do we prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to nagivate an AI-rich world?
- How is AI changing relationships and what protective factors can schools and families employ?
AI, Learning, and the Developing Person Publications
Frontier Wisdom: What AI Needs More Than Intelligence.
Artificial intelligence promises a future of remarkable possibility. It can create, it can immitate, but unlike people it doesn't actually participate in the world. The Bible describes humanities role.
- Rev Craig Tubman
- 09 September 2026
More than a Productivity Tool: Trust, Truth and Human Presence in and AI Age.
Artificial intelligence is often promoted as a tool that will make our lives faster, smarter, and more efficient. Yet beneath the technological excitement lies a deeper question: what is AI doing to our common life?
- Rev Craig Tubman
- 01 September 2026
Young people, learning, and generative AI: A rapid literature review and implications for PreK-12 education
In August 2026 the Barker Institute and the University of Sydney partnered to publish an important academic report. It consisted of a literature review of all available academic evidence regarding GenAI in PreK-12 education. This report, and launch webinar, are now publicly available to educators, policy makers, and parents to ensure we collectively care for our young people in the best possible way.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 12 August 2026
What Is AI Doing to Us? Friction, worship and the Pursuit of the Good Life.
Most conversations about artificial intelligence focus on what AI can do for us. It can save time, automate tasks, generate content, and remove all kinds of inconvenience from our lives. But perhaps a more important question is this: what is AI doing to us?
- Rev Craig Tubman
- 05 August 2026
What are humans becoming with AI? Crowned Creatures or Sovereign Slaves?
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into everyday life, we face an important question: not simply what can AI do, but what is AI doing to our understanding of what it means to be human?
- Rev Craig Tubman
- 27 July 2026
A School That Takes AI Seriously | Reflections on Barker's Second Annual AI Conference
Term 3 opened this week with the whole staff (teaching and non-teaching) gathered together, thinking carefully about one of the most important questions facing education today.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 24 July 2026
What Story is AI Telling Us? Reading and Responding to the Gospel of Tech
A gospel tells a story. It explains what the world should be like, what has gone wrong, and how salvation can be achieved. Increasingly, the AI movement presents its own version of this narrative.
- Rev Craig Tubman
- 23 July 2026
International Engagement Week 2: Barker Institute at AIED 2026 (Seoul, South Korea)
This is the second post of a two week trip engaging with educators, administrators, and academics from around the world on the topic of AI in Education.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 04 July 2026
International Engagement Week 1: Barker Institute at the Lakefield College School Summer AI Institute (Canada)
This is the first post of a two week trip engaging with educators, administrators, and academics from around the world on the topic of AI in Education.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 27 June 2026
Assessing literature on the impact of generative AI on young minds – watch this space!
Each week someone in our research team posts a new article about the impact of AI in education for review and discussion. Academia is catching up to this new phenomenon that’s revolutionising schools, and rewiring the modern brain.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 31 March 2026
Exploring the Impact of AI on Student Cognitive Processes: Year 10 History Research Project
This term, the Barker Institute has been working with the History Department on a classroom embedded research project investigating the impact of generative artificial intelligence on student thinking, research skills, and students’ perceptions of their own learning.
- Claire Butler
- 31 March 2026
Augment, Not Replace: Reframing AI’s Place in the Classroom
There is a growing sense that artificial intelligence is reshaping the conditions under which students learn. Yet, amid the excitement surrounding its capabilities, a more fundamental question remains: what is happening to students’ thinking in the process? A recent report by Lodge and Loble provides a timely opportunity to pause and consider this question more carefully, shifting attention away from the novelty of the technology and towards the cognitive work that sits at the heart of learning.
- Dr Timothy Scott
- 18 March 2026
Keen Kid or Cognitive Innovator?
Earlier this week, my Year 8 History class was practising paragraph writing in preparation for an upcoming assessment. As I moved about the room, a student asked me to review a response he’d written for homework. It was excellent, but it addressed a question I hadn't set or asked him to complete.
- Claire Butler
- 04 March 2026
Continuing the balancing act: AI and education in ongoing conversation
The importance of teachers and students engaging critically with AI is already well understood in schools. It is the starting point for any conversation about AI in education, even if only tacitly acknowledged. Our recent PD conference began from this shared understanding and then pressed us to go further: what does it look like to equip students to use AI as a tool for learning, while preserving independent thought and academic integrity?
- 30 September 2025
Balancing Innovation with Integrity: AI in education
Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from hype to reality in schools. No longer just a futuristic idea, AI is now reshaping how we teach and learn—from personalised learning pathways to automating routine tasks for teachers. But the key question is no longer whether AI has a place in education. The question is: how do we balance innovation with integrity?
- Dr Timothy Scott
- 22 September 2025
Avoiding and breaking free from tech-enabled addiction
Technology, particularly personal devices have created so many opportunities for connection, however they open the door to corporations and advertisers who are not acting in the interests of our children.
- Dr Matthew Hill
- 25 June 2025
When human outshines machine
In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, we are often dazzled by what machines can do. They can generate lesson plans in seconds, answer complex questions with fluency, and tailor learning pathways with breathtaking precision. But there are moments in every school day—quiet, unmeasurable, irreplaceable—when it becomes clear that education is still, at its core, a deeply human enterprise.
- Dr Timothy Scott
- 27 May 2025
AI in Education: Transformation or Transformation of Form?
Artificial intelligence is undeniably transforming how we teach and learn. Its capabilities—from personalised learning paths to automating administrative tasks—offer exciting opportunities for innovation. Alongside such transformations a question that has emerged in my mind has about the real extent to which we have been witnessing a fundamental shift in the way knowledge is created and understood. Or are we merely dressing up time-tested practices in new digital garb?
- Dr Timothy Scott
- 25 February 2025
AI in schools: Staff professional development Term 3
In a world where AI is here to stay, how can AI be used to enhance thinking and learning in an educational context?
- 13 August 2024