The Arts · Year 9

Active learning ideas

AI in Art: Creativity and Authorship

Active learning works because students engage directly with the tools they are studying, experiencing firsthand how AI reshapes creativity. Generating, debating, and role-playing make abstract concepts like authorship and ethics concrete and memorable for Year 9 students.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AVA10E01
• AC9AVA10C01

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Pairs

Prompt Workshop: Generating and Critiquing AI Art

Provide access to free AI art generators. Students work in pairs to enter identical prompts, then compare outputs and annotate differences due to human phrasing. Groups share one finding and vote on most 'creative' result with reasons.

Critique the claim that AI-generated art can be considered truly 'creative'.

Facilitation Tip

During Prompt Workshop, circulate and ask pairs how changing one word in their prompt altered the AI’s style or mood, guiding them to notice dependency on human input.

What to look for

Pose the following to small groups: 'Imagine an AI generates a piece of art that perfectly mimics Van Gogh's style. Who is the artist: the AI, the person who wrote the prompt, or is it a new form of homage? Justify your answer with reference to our discussions on authorship and ethics.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 40 min · Pairs

Debate Pairs: AI vs Human Creativity

Assign pairs one pro and one con position on 'AI art is truly creative.' They prepare three pieces of evidence from class-generated art. Pairs debate with class as judges, rotating opponents midway.

Analyze the ethical implications of using AI to create art in the style of deceased artists.

Facilitation Tip

For Debate Pairs, provide a timer and a strict ‘evidence-first’ rule to keep discussions focused on claims from the activities rather than personal opinions.

What to look for

Present students with three images: one clearly human-made, one AI-generated with a simple prompt, and one AI-generated with a highly detailed, complex prompt. Ask students to write down which they believe is which and provide one specific visual or conceptual reason for their classification.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 35 min · Small Groups

Ethics Role-Play: Deceased Artist Styles

Present scenarios where AI mimics Picasso or Indigenous artists. Small groups role-play as artist estates, AI users, and buyers, negotiating consent and compensation. Debrief with class vote on fairest outcomes.

Predict how the rise of AI art might transform the art market and the definition of an artist.

Facilitation Tip

In Ethics Role-Play, assign each stakeholder role a one-sentence summary of their position beforehand to ensure all voices are prepared and heard.

What to look for

Students pair up and share an AI-generated image they created. Each student evaluates their partner's image based on two criteria: 'How original does this feel?' and 'How effectively does the prompt seem to have guided the AI?' Partners provide one sentence of constructive feedback for each criterion.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 50 min · Small Groups

Market Simulation: Pitching AI Art Businesses

Groups design art businesses blending AI and human work, predicting market changes. They pitch to class 'investors' with prototypes and address ethical concerns. Class selects top pitch based on innovation and ethics.

Critique the claim that AI-generated art can be considered truly 'creative'.

Facilitation Tip

During Market Simulation, assign one student in each group to track how often human artists are mentioned in pitches to reveal assumptions about AI’s market role.

What to look for

Pose the following to small groups: 'Imagine an AI generates a piece of art that perfectly mimics Van Gogh's style. Who is the artist: the AI, the person who wrote the prompt, or is it a new form of homage? Justify your answer with reference to our discussions on authorship and ethics.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should treat AI tools as artifacts to dissect, not as magic. Use think-alouds when generating images to model how to critique outputs. Avoid framing AI as a replacement for human creativity; instead, emphasize hybrid practices. Research shows that when students role-play stakeholders, their ethical reasoning improves because they experience consequences directly.

Successful learning looks like students confidently distinguishing between AI remixing and human intent, questioning ethical boundaries, and articulating nuanced views on authorship. They should use specific examples from activities to support their arguments.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Prompt Workshop, watch for students describing AI outputs as fully original inventions rather than remixes of training data.

  Redirect them to compare multiple AI-generated versions of the same prompt and ask, ‘What patterns do you see repeating across these images?’ to reveal their reliance on patterns in the dataset.

• During Ethics Role-Play, watch for students dismissing ethical concerns about mimicking deceased artists as overreactions.

  Have students present their stakeholder’s worst-case scenario to the class and ask the group to vote on which harm is most damaging, using role-play notes to ground the discussion in tangible consequences.

• During Market Simulation, watch for students assuming AI will dominate the art market and make human artists obsolete.

  Ask groups to tally how many times their business pitch includes human artists as part of the value chain and discuss why authenticity remains a selling point in their models.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Formal Debate