Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has some admirable ambitions. He wants the UK education system to rival the best in the world. Somewhat controversially, he also wants everyone to study maths up to 18 years old. Whether the two are compatible are not is a topic for debate (which I will come to later), but what’s clear is that our government must arm educators with the rights tools if it’s to achieve “world beating” status, and Artificial Intelligence should be a key part of that tool kit.
A force for positive change
Following the release of Open AI’s ChatGPT at the end of last year there has been a flurry of comment, and indeed several concerns raised, about the impact of AI on education.
Many educators have focused on the ease with which assessments could be duped by the technology. Yet, AI poses a great opportunity, with a growing number of EdTech startups utilising AI-powered platforms to log and process learning data. This helps teachers automatically assesses, personalise and adapt the learning in lessons, enabling immediate intervention and real-time evaluation.
At present, Britain’s education is some way from world beating and, in fact, somewhat outdated, having been built on a 19th-century model. Though technology is used in schools, it’s not exactly cutting edge (think PowerPoint, Teams and Google classrooms) and has been introduced in a fragmented way with little thought to how teachers and students will use it.
AI offers something quite different. As Anthony Seldon from the Times Education Commission, put it, “it personalises itself to the individual student and teacher — and it is autonomous — it operates independently, allowing students to learn at their own times of day, in their optimal way, and in their location of choice.”
AI-powered technology can revolutionise our education system by making our schools more data-led while improving student engagement and performance and restoring the joy of learning for all involved.
So, what does that mean in practice?
Tailored planning and assessment
Using AI tools, pre-planned lessons can be tailored to each class and even to individual students. In-lesson questioning runs through an app or platform, enabling teachers to automatically check for understanding and adapt lessons accordingly.
Real-time evaluation also reduces the need for frequent manual marking by capturing data about where students may need more support or have gaps in their knowledge. Using the same information, homework and future lesson planning can be automated and personalised. AI platforms can also help predict student grades based on data collected during the ongoing class assessment.
Boosting student engagement
These tools can help improve student performance and progress by boosting engagement in class and helping teachers spot where pupils need more help.
It can be common to encounter students who, particularly in larger classes, are reluctant to speak up and ask for help.
This means teachers may sometimes miss those pupils that have not yet understood the topic or issue, storing up problems for later.
By providing another means of communication, less confident students are more likely to ask questions and flag when they don’t understand, improving engagement and performance in lessons.
Giving students more choice
Moreover, by recording such data over time, AI enables teachers and students to see in which subjects where students are strongest. This has the potential to revolutionise our schools and level up our education system.
No longer do students need to choose subjects which they ‘feel’ they are best at. They can instead choose those subjects where they know they are best at – based in the data they have seen over the course of their time in school.
How does this tally with Rishi Sunak’s aim of introducing ‘maths to 18’?
Many would argue, myself included, that forcing pupils to take maths up to adulthood may impact student engagement and performance.
As we know, when a pupil is engaged in a subject, they perform better and are less disruptive in class. So, if Rishi Sunak wants to create the best school system in the world, he should drop the requirement for all students to study maths up to 18.
Tackling teacher attrition
Importantly, AI can benefit teachers as well as students, reducing the administrative burden. Teachers often spend up to 25 extra hours a week on marking and administration.
Newly qualified teachers may spend up to 40 hours on top of their usual 40-hour teaching week.
As a result, teachers are quitting in their thousands, overworked, and fed up with burdensome admin.
By giving teachers the tools, data and time to focus on what they are best – supporting student learning – AI can help reduce teacher burnout and attrition, boosting retention.
Looking to the future
As highlighted by ChatGPT, the technology is at our finger tips and many schools are already beginning to embrace it.
We are working with numerous schools and thousands of pupils on the application of AI in classrooms across the country and we’ve seen some hugely positive results. With the right Government support, AI has the potential to make UK education a world leader.
