Government Invests £4 Million in GenAI for Teachers: Tools to be Developed to Ease Workload

Last week, the government announced a new project aimed at developing AI tools for teachers. GenAI for teachers will include various types of classroom AI tools, such as AI lesson planners and AI-generated educational materials. Read on to learn more about the objectives of the project and how GenAI for teachers will help preserve their time for more principal elements of teaching.

The Need for GenAI for Teachers

Recent research by the Department for Education and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology talks about the attitude towards AI. The aim was to better understand the attitudes of parents and students towards AI teaching tools and the use of student data in the generation of AI tools for teachers.

The research involved 108 parents and students in three locations in England. The participants attended a number of face-to-face and online sessions, during which they learnt more about the potential of GenAI for teachers. They were then questioned about their views on whether the development of such AI tools for teachers should become a national project. Whilst initially sceptical about the use of classroom AI, feedback was mostly positive.

Findings show that parents and students were optimistic about the use of AI teaching tools to support teachers. Plus, this could free up teachers’ time to engage more with students which would improve the overall teaching and learning experience. Participants were less certain about students engaging directly with AI teaching tools.

Similarly, participants felt that the use of student data to optimise the performance of AI teaching tools would be advantageous. It was agreed that this should be anonymised or pseudonymised so that individual students could not be identified. Moreover, participants felt that clear rules should be put in place with respect to the sharing of such data with third parties.

What is the New AI for Teachers Project and How Will it Work?

On the basis of the research, the government has announced its plans to go ahead with the development of GenAI for teachers. Initially, this will involve the accumulation of various educational resources, such as curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and anonymised student assessments. This will form the first content store of high-quality education material to be used for the optimisation of AI tools for teachers.

Technology companies specialising in education will then use this store of materials in large language models (LLMs). This will help to generate a range of teaching tools for teachers such as classroom AI tools, lesson planners, tailored lesson plans by AI etc.

To encourage AI companies to engage with the project, the government is offering an additional share of £1 million to those who use the store to create the best AI teaching tools for teachers. Applications for participation will open on 9 September, and tech companies will have until March 2025 to find innovative ways to use AI to help teachers with feedback and marking.

The overall aim of the project is to use generative AI to help reduce teachers’ workloads and maximise their time. Investment in GenAI for teachers will mean having tools to mark students’ work, create lesson plans for teachers, and deal with routine administrative tasks easily.

GenAI for Teachers: Tools That Can Help Reduce Admin Task Load

Although the predominant objective and responsibility of all teachers is to teach, in reality, their role encompasses numerous additional duties. Lesson planning, procuring or creating materials for class use, and marking students’ work are standard tasks in a teacher’s job. However, all these extra tasks eat into teachers’ time, which is where the GenAI for teachers comes in.

Using the store of data which the government plans to compile, AI teaching tools will be able to accurately perform many of the additional tasks which teachers currently undertake. Helping to alleviate part of teachers’ stressful workloads, will enable them to spend more time (and have more energy for) the crucial, personable aspect of their roles.

Widespread Enthusiasm for GenAI for Teachers

Government ministers, AI companies, and teachers alike are highly supportive of this innovative approach to teaching and learning.

Stephen Morgan, Minister for Early Education, has expressed confidence in using AI teaching tools to provide the best possible education. “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….”

TeachMate has already created a number of AI teaching tools and its Chief Technical Officer, Ian Cunningham, is optimistic about the future.  Talking about the potential for AI tools in education, he says, “The AI education store has the potential to enable us and other developers to produce highly accurate tools for the sector in a much more efficient way, reducing cost, compute and the time it takes us to bring new products to market.”

Similarly, the Bourne Education Trust’s Head of Digital Education, Chris Goodall, is equally enthusiastic about this development. Having used AI to adapt educational materials and create engaging lessons, he says it helps teachers  “focus on what matters most – interacting with students and providing individual feedback and support.”