Confronting a ‘wicked’ problem of teaching practice

Confronting a ‘wicked’ problem of teaching practice: Eureka! discusses AI and assessment at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education’s (SITE) virtual conference, September 11, 2025

On September 11, 2025, Eureka! Institute Director Dr. Kimberley MacKinnon and Research and Innovation Associate Dr. Christine Balt co-facilitated a virtual conference roundtable discussion bringing together researchers and teacher-educators from across the United States and Canada to talk about the implications of GenAI for classroom assessment. Approaching GenAI as a ‘wicked’ problem of practice, Drs. MacKinnon and Balt were interested in exploring what skills students would now need to be successful in an AI era. Participants believed that critical thinking has never been more important, particularly in learning how to navigate ‘AI bias’ and the often inequitable assumptions and perspectives that Large Language Models (LLMs) reproduce. Indeed, in order to demystify the ‘magic box’ of AI, participants suggested that skills such as visible thinking and prompt literacy - not to mention questioning, reflection and dialogue - should be more intentionally integrated into assessment criteria. This will make assessment practices as engaged with the societal and ethical implications of AI as they are with its possibilities.

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