AI literacy at IAS
Students learn how AI tools work, how to check their output and how to use them responsibly. The approach depends on the student’s age and the subject.
The IB position
AI and academic integrity.
The International Baccalaureate Organization has been explicit: AI tools will not be banned. Schools are expected instead to teach students to use them ethically and transparently, within the same academic integrity rules that cover everything else.
Acknowledge AI use
The IB updated its Academic Integrity Policy with specific guidance on artificial intelligence. AI generated content is not the student’s own work and must be cited and referenced when used, and students must be transparent about how and where they used it in any assessed piece.
Learning and assessed work
If a student uses AI to help them learn, that is acceptable. If a student uses AI to produce work they then present as their own, that is not. Teachers explain what is permitted for each task.
Understanding the tools
The IB has compared these tools to calculators, spell checkers and translation software: technologies that changed how work gets done without removing the need to understand it.
By age
What this looks like at each stage.
The school introduces AI in stages, with different expectations for younger and older students.
- Kindergarten to Grade 5
- AI tools are not used in the classroom. The focus is on reading, writing by hand, forming an argument in your own words, and working a problem through step by step.
- Grades 6 to 8
- Students begin working with AI under teacher supervision. Students check responses for accuracy, bias and missing information.
- Grades 9 to 12
- Students use AI as part of their academic and creative process, with clear expectations on originality and citation. In the IB Diploma Programme this maps directly onto the IB’s own policy, and students learn to declare their use of it openly. The mark schemes reward original thinking, not generated text.
Why it is set up this way
Independent thinking comes first.
Writing, research and problem solving help students develop their own understanding. Teachers use tasks and discussions to assess that understanding alongside the work submitted.
Defending an idea
Students pitch original ideas to a panel and defend their thinking under questioning. They need to explain the reasoning behind their answers.
Integrity, in writing
From Grade 6, students and parents sign an Academic Integrity Pledge. Misuse of AI is handled as academic misconduct, in the same way as any other form of it.
Teachers who keep up
Staff take ongoing professional development on responsible AI use, guided by the IB framework and by the school’s own developing practice.
Using AI at home
Ask your child how they used the tool and whether they can explain the answer themselves. Their teacher can clarify what is allowed for an assignment.
Questions
Wondering how this works in your child’s classroom?
Your child’s teacher is the right person to ask, because the answer differs by subject and by year group. The office will put you in touch.
