Teaching the future: AI, policy and the social sciences

Secondary school teachers participated in a half-day NESA-accredited professional development workshop exploring the intersections of AI, technology, policy and the social sciences. With a keynote by Olivia Shen (Director of Strategic Technologies, United States Studies Centre), and sessions led by academics from the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, the program offered both insight and inspiration for classroom practice.

Keynote speaker

• Olivia Shen has more than a decade of experience in digital policy, including shaping Australia’s national policies around artificial intelligence and data. She discussed how artificial intelligence is reshaping the classroom, the social, political and ethical questions arising from AI and why they matter for the next generation.

Breakout sessions

• Dr Kathryn Robison on how space exploration and space policy have shaped global politics, public opinion, and social imagination, and how these themes can engage students in thinking critically about power, identity and international cooperation.
• Associate Professor David Smith on the politics of identity, religion, and minority representation in the United States, equipping educators to bring discussions of social cohesion, political order and civic identity into their classrooms.

Program inclusions:

• NESA-accredited hours
• Morning tea and networking lunch
• Take-home gift bag and classroom materials
• A chance to connect with other social science and history educators