Teachers have “significant scepticism” about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, a survey reveals.
The finding comes as national organisations, including the Department for Education, are developing AI tools in a bid to reduce teacher workload.
Most schools (69 per cent) are yet to implement AI technologies, according to the weighted YouGov poll of 1,001 teachers.
However, for schools that have used AI, the primary motivation has been to cut teacher workload, with a quarter of teachers reporting this.
Other motivations include improving student outcomes (11 per cent), assessing student work (9 per cent) and identifying areas where students need extra support (5 per cent).
AI doesn’t consistently cut teacher workload
More than half of the teachers whose schools were using AI said it had no positive impact on their workload.
One in four teachers (42 per cent) reported that AI had made no change to their workload and 9 per cent reported an increase.
Only a third of respondents said that AI had decreased the amount of work they do, with the rest of the respondents saying that AI is not applicable to their job.
The survey results show “significant scepticism among teachers about AI’s ability to address key challenges in education”, according to the report commissioned by edtech exhibition Bett.
This apparent mistrust reveals a need for more “comprehensive training and information about AI’s capabilities and limitations”, says the report, The Rise of AI in Education 2024.
Among the poll respondents who were using AI in school, more than half said the training provided by their school was helpful.
But 34 per cent reported receiving no training at all and 12 per cent found their training unhelpful.
The concerns come after school and exam leaders warned that teachers need more support to identify “undeclared” use of AI in coursework.
The effect of AI on teacher workload is not “uniform across all teaching roles and contexts”, although there is “clear enthusiasm” for AI’s potential to “streamline routine and administrative tasks”, the report adds.
There were several areas in which teachers believed tech solutions could be useful.
Some 53 per cent of teachers surveyed said that AI could help with automated marking and assessment.
Other areas that teachers felt could be supported by AI included scheduling and timetabling (44 per cent), generating student reports and feedback (43 per cent) and developing lessons and classroom resources (36 per cent).
AI ‘must not add to existing pressures’
It will be “crucial” to address the concerns that teachers have about AI, the report says, adding that AI must “support and enhance the teaching profession rather than adding to existing pressures”.
There are several national projects underway to develop teachers’ use of AI. The DfE launched a £4 million project in August to train generative AI tools to help teachers create lesson plans and mark homework.
The government also announced a new edtech evidence board last month, which will assess the efficacy of edtech tools, including AI, for teaching and learning.
Meanwhile, Oak National Academy, the curriculum resources quango, has developed its own AI lesson planning assistant, which it said teachers can use to create lesson plans and teaching resources in minutes.
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