Teachers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to save time by “automating tasks”, says a government report first seen by the BBC. Adapting the reading age of texts, making handouts, and writing emails to parents were cited as popular uses, with a “small number” saying they used it for grading and feedback. Teachers said it gave them more time to do “more impactful” work. But the report also warned that AI can produce unreliable or biased content.
The Department for Education (DfE) report is based on 567 responses to a call for evidence about AI in education, including schools, over the summer. Most submissions were from England. It found that most respondents were “broadly optimistic” about the use of AI in education, but almost all had some hesitations. They worried about AI producing false information including when marking assessments, for example. The report will inform future policy on AI, the DfE said - adding that the government was already helping to “realise the potential of AI in education”.
According to the survey tool Teacher Tapp, four in 10 teachers are already using AI in their schoolwork. Prof Becky Allen, the app’s co-founder and chief analyst, said some teachers found it easier to use AI to cut down on work than others. “It’s really quite normal now as a maths teacher, that you don’t mark maths homework any more,” she said - adding that this was becoming the case even before widespread access to AI tools. One of the reasons why we’re OK with it in maths is because we have such chronic shortages of maths teachers that you know nobody really feels aggrieved."
Teachers use AI to set the tasks, pupils use AI to respond, teachers use AI to mark the results …
Automation has started … what next …