When I was coming to the end of primary school, our class teacher - presumable having run out of steam - asked us to spend the last few weeks of term researching and preparing individual projects. These could be on any topic and take any form. Like a good little oddball, I went straight to the library and found all the books they had on serial killers.
There was not, in truth, much research done here. I simply read about the serial killers, and then copied the most interesting chapters verbatim in a jotter. Later, when I was sitting Advanced Higher English, I half-shamelessly half-ripped off an idea from a William McIlvanney short story and presented it as my own.
Pupils plagiarising work is not a new phenomenon, but the recent explosion of accessible artificial intelligence services certainly offers a fresh slant on the practice. Systems such as ChatGPT can generate “original” text and content, with minimal effort - although better inputs provide better results. This thing can effortlessly write an essay defending the actions of Lady Macbeth, come up with poetry about climate change (in the style of Burns?), or provide a chronological report on the American Civil War. Artificial intelligence draws on existing information, and for some school assignments, it’s clear to see how it could be tempting for students snowed under with a variety of coursework deadlines.
It’s worth noting that students, and teachers, have had open access to forms of artificial intelligence for years now. The standard spelling and grammar checker offered on word-processing apps will be familiar to all; other options such as Grammarly can also artificially assist editing and redrafting.
Granted, these options could be seen as supporting students rather than doing the work for them. But aren’t we in the business of preparing young people for their future? Getting them ready for successful working lives in the 21st century? If we concede that artificial intelligence is only going to blossom from here, we need to help students learn how to use it effectively, honestly, and responsibly. Look upon it as an assistant, a buddy, a collaborator.
The positives of artificial intelligence in schools
Let’s consider the positive uses of artificial intelligence. Writing can be hard; especially getting started with a piece of writing on a blank page; especially getting started with a piece of writing on a blank page for neurodivergent pupils. Playing about with something like ChatGPT can help them generate ideas, find sentence openers, create a skeleton on to which they can build up some muscle. It can be a launchpad for struggling writers to find a way of articulating what they want to say.
Recently one of my colleagues presented an argument for the beneficial use of AI to reduce teacher workload, something which I doubt anyone would rail against. By using carefully chosen input commands, it’s possible to create new lesson plans, suitable classroom resources and various tools of assessment for a new unit of work - all within the time it would take to boil the kettle.
Surely there is a tremendous opportunity here for school leaders. AI could be used, for example, to provide cover work during unexpected staff absences, with minimal time, effort or expense. Fears about AI replacing teaching staff are overblown, but maybe we can use the service to work smarter.
AI can also automate repetitive tasks. Once again, it’s easy to identify examples where this could be useful in school life: writing permissions letters for school trips; emails home to parents; perhaps even termly reports on pupils’ progress, if the inputs could be measured with enough delicacy.
The caveat of all of these potential options is that human moderation is essential. The software is guilty of having “hallucinations”, where wild falsehoods are presented as facts. These need to be recognised and amended. Tasks such as generating emails and producing reports require individualisation to be meaningful, and again this is where genuine staff input would be required. Artificially generated lesson plans and resources would similarly require an overview and moderation from a subject specialist, to ensure the material is suitable in content, challenge and pace.
Artificial intelligence may well know how to unlock the doors, but teachers still hold the keys.
Alan Gillespie is principal teacher of English at Fernhill School, near Glasgow, and a novelist
