Students may be discouraged from using AI to aid assignments, but the government now wants teachers to use it for planning lessons and marking homework.
Under a £4million scheme, just announced by the government, AI will be be fed existing lesson plans, curriculum guidance and anonymised assessments.
The hope is that this will train it to create tools that can reliably be used in classrooms.
Science Secretary Peter Kyle said: ‘We know teachers work tirelessly to go above and beyond for their students.
‘By making AI work for them, this project aims to ease admin burdens and help them deliver creative and inspiring lessons every day, while reducing time pressures they face.
‘This is the first of many projects that will transform how we see and use public sector data.
‘We will put the information we hold to work, using it in a safe and responsible way to reduce waiting lists, cut backlogs and improve outcomes for citizens across the country.’
Far from luddites, it seems parents are on board with the introduction of AI to schools.
Research suggests they would be open to teachers using generative AI tools to help with certain tasks if it meant more time to spend with kids in classrooms.
There are always concerns regarding the accuracy of AI output, but the Department for Education is confident on this front.
Its tests found feeding the AI classroom materials could increase accuracy to 92%, up from 67% when no targeted data was provided to the model.
Nearly half of teachers already use AI in some form in their jobs, according to a TeacherTapp survey, but this is without it being specifically trained for this purpose.
When this scheme is rolled out, the government plans to make its educational data available to AI companies in a bid to boost innovation.
It is also offering £1million to whoever brings forward the best ideas for tools using the data to help teachers.
Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan said: ‘We are determined to break down the barriers to opportunity to ensure every child can get the best possible education – and that includes access to the best tech innovations for all.
‘Artificial intelligence, when made safe and reliable, represents an exciting opportunity to give our schools leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life.
‘Today’s announcement marks a huge step forward for AI in the classroom.
‘This investment will allow us to safely harness the power of tech to make it work for our hard-working teachers, easing the pressures and workload burdens we know are facing the profession and freeing up time, allowing them to focus on face-to-face teaching.’
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