64 per cent of teachers not using artificial intelligence for their work, new report reveals 

64 per cent of teachers are not using ChatGPT professionally, including 19 per cent who are ‘not interested’ in using artificial intelligence (AI) anytime in the future, according to a new study. 

41 per cent of teachers said their school did not have an agreed approach to AI, and a further 17 per cent did not know if any policy had existed, according to research by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. 

The survey of over 5,000 teachers found the vast majority of teachers (84 per cent) have not changed the way they assess students’ work, despite the availability of AI tools. Only 41 per cent say they are regularly checking homework and coursework for plagiarism content from the web. 

The poll by the British Computer Society (BCS), a professional body for computing, covered 2,000 secondary schools in England. It suggests new inequalities in the use and understanding of AI in education; although a small proportion of the teachers surveyed were from private schools, the trend was that they were using AI more regularly than their state counterparts. 

Teachers in the North West, Yorkshire and the North East were slightly less regular users of AI than those in other regions. 

Only a third (36 per cent) of teachers using AI for lesson preparation had ‘admitted it’ to their senior leadership team or head, suggesting it is seen as ‘cheating’ for teachers as well as students, according to BCS. 

One computer science teacher who asked to remain anonymous said: “Here we are, another technological wave washing over the education sector, leaving us stuck in the 1950s.  

“At the school I’ve started at now, teachers are not allowed to use AI to create lessons. The senior leadership team fear that if they let AI in, it will replace, not enhance teachers.” 

Meanwhile, media studies teacher Kelly Midgley, from south Manchester, who was interviewed for the report, said: “I didn’t start to use AI until this past year. I was sceptical at the start — visions of Skynet!  

“It’s thought that authentic teaching is when you design all the lessons yourself tailored to that class, and this is probably why some teachers may be cautious when using AI.  

“I’ve now used AI to create text for a ‘how to’ guide; I edited some of the AI text to be more specific and maintain an appropriate tone.” 

In its report, BCS recommends that understanding of AI is made a significant part of teacher training and headteachers’ leadership qualifications alongside wider digital literacy.  

The study also calls for schools to publish AI policies on their websites — but they can only be expected to do that with clear guidance from the Department for Education (DfE), the qualifications regulator (Ofqual), and other relevant bodies, BCS said in a third recommendation.  

BCS had earlier called for a new digital literacy qualification in schools (which focusses on general skills including using AI tools) alongside the current computer science GCSE. 

Julia Adamson MBE, managing director, education & public benefit at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “Teachers see the opportunity AI presents to transform their work and the lives of their students, from saving time on lesson plans, to personalising learning for each young person.  

“But they need better training and guidance to grow in confidence with AI, to make sure it is used fairly and that it doesn’t cause greater disadvantage in the education system.” 

Responding to the report, Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “While it is clear that AI has huge potential benefits for schools and children’s learning, it is important that these are harnessed in the right way. 

“It is understandable that school leaders and teachers need training and guidance in order to feel confident using AI. It is also true that no AI tool is infallible or can replace the judgement and knowledge of a human expert. There are also lots of safeguarding and ethical considerations around use of this technology. 

“It therefore makes sense that AI is introduced gradually in order to maximise its potential and mitigate the risks.”