Goal Aligned AI Literacy

by Miranda Liu and Annabelle Larkworthy

In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work, learn, and communicate, the International School of the Sacred Heart is taking a proactive approach to preparing students for the future. This year, thanks to the generous support of our Annual Fund donors, we were able to adopt Flint, a specialised AI platform designed expressly  for K-12 education, at ISSH. Through Flint, our students are developing critical AI literacy in a safe environment while its intentional design allows us to ensure we maintain the academic integrity and ethical responsibility central to our Sacred Heart mission.

With technology changing by the day, you may be wondering, why does AI literacy matter? “Integrating AI into our curriculum is in no way a replacement for traditional learning,” shares Annabelle Larkworthy, Director of Curriculum at ISSH, “It is about ensuring our students are equipped to navigate a world where AI is increasingly present. In 2025, we developed an AI policy with user guidelines, which emphasises that engaging with and learning about AI is an essential element of developing responsible digital citizens.” Rather than banning AI or allowing unregulated use, ISSH is teaching students to use these tools critically, transparently, and ethically. This creates a foundation for students to grow into informed users of technology who are able to make discerning decisions about new innovations as they arise. 

What makes Flint different is that it is purpose-built to assist in this learning journey. Unlike other consumer AI platforms such as ChatGPT or Gemini, Flint was built specifically for schools. It meets compliance requirements for students under 13 years old, provides GDPR-compliant data protection, and allows teachers to monitor chats and other student interactions when needed. The girls love the program’s chatbot character “Sparky”, but teachers can control the safety features behind the scenes—ELA teacher Nicola Takizawa showed us how she sets the bot “not to be too friendly”. “When we said, ‘Let’s be friends’, Sparky told us, ‘Sorry, we can’t be friends’,” Grade 6 ELA student Alicia shared, demonstrating how the class had ascertained that the safety features did, in fact, work. It actually worked so well that not only did Nicola receive a notification of the concerning chat, but so did the Middle School Principal!

Perhaps most importantly, Flint is designed to guide learning rather than simply provide answers. As Grade 6 student Emine explains, "It can help me learn my own mistakes without telling me directly what's wrong, and it helps me understand what is wrong."

Sixth grade student Jinqiao uses Flint to help create her handwritten science glossary

Flint in action
Across grade levels and subjects, teachers are using Flint in innovative ways. In Grade 7 Social Studies, students researching family artifacts for their History Chronicle unit have used Flint to develop research questions and locate historical sources. One student, combining Flint with her own investigation, discovered her Polish family in the 1930 New York census, a breakthrough that deepened her understanding of early 20th-century immigration. “I was really excited and surprised to find information about my family online, and I felt very connected to them,” the student commented, citing her own effort to create a meaningful outline for her project and Flint as the tool that helped her unearth the family records. Flint has also helped students master the HIPP analysis framework for evaluating primary and secondary sources, and craft proper MLA citations.

As part of the AP Seminar course, teacher Garry Baker used Flint to reverse-engineer a high-scoring essay, showing students how to build effective outlines and annotated bibliographies, which enabled him to demonstrate the thinking process from initial research to polished final product. Like many faculty, he has used Flint as an opportunity to learn more about AI and its relevance alongside the meaningful practices he has polished in his decades of experience as a teacher. “Overall, I think it's been a valuable addition to a teacher's toolbox,” he shared. 

Students in the English as an Additional Language program are also using Flint in a variety of ways. Sixth-graders chat with Sparky to help them create a handwritten glossary of terminology that they use in their science classes. Their teacher, Nicola, sets up a purpose-made dashboard so that the software is prepared to answer the students’ questions within the context, including settings for the students’ level of English ability. “When we searched for answers on Google, we couldn’t get the right definitions for science, so Sparky helps,” Grade 6 student Sachi shared, showing words in her glossary like the chemistry term “solution.” Flint has also made a huge positive impact on Grade 7 ELA students, who typically struggle to stay engaged with classroom discussions in English class about novels above their reading level. “Before, I felt like I was only meeting about 50% of the students' needs,” ELA Head of Department Olivia Petraglia explained, “but with Flint, I can set up chats where each girl can have her own conversation with Sparky about the elements of the book that they’re struggling with, closely monitoring each girl’s conversation and tweaking the prompts I give Sparky to best support each student.” Olivia has already heard feedback from the students that they feel more confident to engage in classroom discussion because they can follow along thanks to their conversations with Sparky before class, with students sharing, “Having control through my chat with Sparky helped me focus on parts I didn’t understand,” and “All the questions that my English teacher asked started to make sense to me!” Olivia is thrilled to have found a tool to address a problem she’s been struggling with for a long time, commenting, “Flint has been a game-changer for our ELA students!”

In Japanese language classes, students use Flint for writing practice and immediate feedback. Grade 11 student Aahana notes, "I find it helpful because of the constant feedback and how it nitpicks at grammar, helping me become a stronger writer in Japanese." One Grade 7 student adds an important insight: "It can be easier to take in feedback from Flint than a teacher, because it doesn't seem like you're getting in trouble." She notes that Flint’s ‘conversational style’ of questioning, supporting and tutoring helps her learn in the way that works best for her. This in turn offers her greater agency over her learning in a specific and highly personalised way.

Grade 7 Saya uses Flint to give her feedback on her reading aloud in Japanese

How does this align with our mission?
Our Sacred Heart Goals serve as our roadmap in all that we do, driving us to think critically and not simply follow fads or make the easiest choice. Our selection of Flint as the central technology in our initiative to introduce AI literacy directly supports Sacred Heart Goal 2: “A Deep Respect for Intellectual Values” by promoting critical and creative thinking and the implementation of relevant emerging technologies. It also advances Goal 5: “Personal Growth in an Atmosphere of Wise Freedom” as we model safe, ethical, and responsible technology use.

As an essential element to mission alignment, our teachers and students recognise Flint's potential and its limitations, providing pivotal learning opportunities to develop critical and evaluative thinking skills.  As Grade 7 student Emma has wisely observed, "Flint and AI can be helpful for various things, but they can also not be right all of the time." This critical awareness—understanding that AI is a tool requiring human judgment—is exactly the type of literacy our students need for future success.

“Flint directly supports our pedagogical mission to ensure High Quality Learning and Teaching at ISSH (as defined by Scott McLeod and Julie Graber’s research based 4 Shifts Protocol),” Annabelle explains. “By refusing to simply provide answers, Flint promotes deeper thinking as students engage in cognitively complex tasks. When students use Flint to develop research questions or analyse primary sources, they're engaging in authentic work that transfers across subjects and real-world situations. Flint enhances student agency by providing a safe space for intellectual risk-taking where students can receive immediate feedback and self-reflect without fear of judgment. Finally, Flint exemplifies innovation through the purposeful and ethical use of technology, always with teacher oversight and clear expectations for responsible use. By integrating Flint thoughtfully into our curriculum, we are ensuring that our students don't just encounter AI in the world, they learn to use it responsibly, critically, and in service of deeper learning."

ELA teacher Ms. Takizawa explains how Flint can uniquely help support additional language learners