Ethics & AI - The "Essential Toolkit" for the Modern Educator

Ethics & AI

The "Essential Toolkit" for the Modern Educator.

In person workshop at Wellington Prep & College

Date: 7 May 2026

Time: 14:30 - 16:45

Cost: R190 per person - Book on Quicket

Includes tea, goody bag & lucky draw for Dr Hayward's book - Give Quality Kids, Quality School Days.

Being an educator in 2026 is harder than ever. We are asked to be moral mentors while navigating a world of deepfakes, AI-written essays, and digital bias. How do we stay human in a high-tech world?

This ethics-focused event combining Dr. Richard Hayward’s human-centric approach to universal ethics with Dr. Karen Walstra’s expertise in the rapidly evolving world of AI is a timely and necessary pairing.

Join us for an afternoon of learning and exploration!

Ethics is for Everyone: Use Dr. Hayward’s "Epicentre" model to turn school culture from 'surviving' to 'thriving.'

• Being a good teacher is far more than simply passing on knowledge and skills. Being a good learner is far more than being a diligent student. Being a good principal is far more than being an efficient manager. There’s one crucial extra that’s still needed.
• That crucial extra is the need to be ethical. What does that mean? Ethics guides us as how to treat others and how others should treat us. The workshop looks at what can be done to ensure that ethics are at the epicentre of the school. When a code of ethics is at the heart of the school, a happy and high-achieving place is created for everyone.

AI & Ethics in Education: Dr. Walstra explores, in an era where AI can generate an essay in seconds, the educator’s role has shifted from "Information Provider" to "Critical Validator." We pull back the curtain on how AI actually 'thinks' to ensure it serves your learning environment, without compromising your values.

• AI is often a 'Black Box'! We see what goes in (a prompt) and what comes out (an essay or lesson plan), but the 'thinking' in the middle is hidden. In education, this opacity is a risk. If we don't know why an AI gave a certain answer, we can't tell if it's being biased, hallucinating facts, or subtly discouraging a learner’s unique voice.
• The Hallucination Filter: Learn to spot when AI "fakes it" and how to teach students the vital skill of fact-checking in a post-truth digital world.
• The Bias Awareness: Explore how to identify cultural or social biases in AI outputs, turning "wrong" answers into powerful "teachable moments."
• The Truth About AI Checkers: A candid investigation into the validity of detection tools. We move past the "gotcha" mentality to a "process-driven" approach that honours original student thought.

Bios:

Dr Richard Hayward has been in education for almost fifty years – 21 of which were as principal at two public schools. During his career Richard has received awards at provincial, national and teacher-union levels for his contributions to education. In his ‘retirement’, he does school leadership and management workshops across the country. These programmes are presented under the aegis of the South African Quality Institute (SAQI). Six of his programmes are endorsed by the South African Council for Educators for the professional development of teachers. He writes regular articles for educational publications. Richard’s book titled, Making Quality Education happen: a ‘how to’ guide for every teacher has gone into a second edition. His new book is “Give Quality Kids, Quality School Days”, short stories of advice for teachers and parents to assist all children.

Dr. Karen Walstra is an independent educational consultant, passionate EduChangeMaker, and an expert in educational technology and Artificial Intelligence. She holds a PhD in Computer-integrated Education and a Master’s in Educational Technology, and is the Western Cape Ambassador for the South African AI Association (SAAIA). Her 29-year career includes teaching from Grade R to Grade 11, serving as a Director of Academics, Acting School Head, and lecturing part-time at four South African universities. Dr. Walstra worked with Google’s Education Go Digital teams (2014-2017) and was contracted to develop the Online Safety Curriculum Guide, which is currently being rolled out nationally by the DBE. Her "Demystifying Coding" workshop was rolled out from 2022 to 20224 as a DBE and Teacher Union professional development project. She has also trained more than 1000 teachers in the last 3 years on AI education awareness and use, demonstrating her commitment to adapting schools to future technologies.