SHIFT – Teaching AI Skills in Year 11 Economics
When you hear “AI in the classroom”, you might picture students asking ChatGPT to do their homework. But what if we told you, it’s not about shortcuts, it’s about teaching our girls to think for themselves?
That’s exactly what happened in the Year 11 Economics class. Library staff member Amy Hollingsworth popped in to run a session on using AI as a tool, not a crutch, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
Turning AI from Answer Machine to Thinking Tool
Economics is all about real-world thinking. Students look at data, policies and decisions that affect entire populations. But AI doesn’t always give you facts, it gives you what sounds like facts. That can be risky when you’re writing essays or analysing issues that depend on solid evidence.
So instead of avoiding AI, we showed students how to use it well: to question, check and verify what it gives them. We introduced them to our SHIFT method, which they put to work straight away.
Not familiar with SHIFT? Here’s how we’re leading the way in AI literacy.
Putting SHIFT Into Practice
The girls used AI to generate ideas around economic topics and then ran that output through the SHIFT lens:
- Is this stat legit?
- Can I trace the source?
- Would this hold up in a real-world argument?
They didn’t just take answers at face value, they challenged them. And that’s the kind of thinking we love to see.
Why It Matters
AI is going to be part of their future, whether we teach it or not. But using it with critical thinking and care, that’s a skill worth developing, especially in Economics, where backing your ideas with accurate, reliable information really counts.
This wasn’t about making research easier. It was about making it smarter. Watching our students take on that challenge with curiosity and confidence is exactly what real learning looks like.
It’s just one more way we’re helping girls grow into informed, thoughtful young women, ready to lead in a world shaped by change.
- ChatGPT, CriticalThinking, Economics, Featured, SantaMariaCollege, SHIFT, TeachingAI, UsingAI, Year11
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
