AI in the Classroom: Friend, Foe or the Ultimate Teaching Assistant?

Artificial intelligence has quickly moved from something that felt futuristic to a tool that is now part of everyday life, including education.

With tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini becoming increasingly accessible, schools are asking some important questions. How can AI support learning? What are the risks? And how do we make sure technology enhances education without taking away the human connection at its heart?

In a recent episode of our podcast, we explored these questions, looking at how AI could be used positively in education while recognising the responsibilities that come with it.

AI isn't replacing teachers

One of the biggest questions surrounding AI in education is whether it could eventually replace teachers.

We don't think so.

Education is about far more than delivering information. Great teaching involves relationships, empathy, encouragement, creativity and an understanding of the individual young person.

AI can provide information, suggest ideas and support planning, but it can't replace the human relationships that make learning meaningful.

Instead, AI should be seen as another tool in the teacher's toolkit - something that can support educators and free up time, rather than replace them.

Rethinking how we learn

AI does present a challenge to some traditional approaches to homework and assessment. If a student can generate a 3,000-word essay in seconds, simply setting an essay becomes much harder to assess.

But perhaps that's an opportunity to rethink what we ask young people to do.

AI could be used to help students generate ideas, explore topics and understand difficult concepts, while assessment focuses more on creativity, practical application, presentations and the learning journey.

For example, students could use AI to generate an image from their own descriptive writing, then evaluate how accurately their words communicated what they imagined. Or they could ask AI to explain a complex idea through something they are interested in, such as explaining maths using football statistics.

Used well, AI doesn't have to reduce learning. It can encourage students to question, experiment and think critically.

Could AI help teachers too?

Teachers already have huge workloads, and AI has the potential to take some of the pressure away from repetitive tasks.

It can help with:

• Planning lessons and schemes of work

• Adapting resources for different learning needs

• Organising information and creating summaries

• Drafting clear, professional communications

The important thing is that the teacher remains in control. AI can provide a starting point, but professional judgement and an understanding of each young person remain essential.

Using AI responsibly

With the opportunities come some important responsibilities.

Privacy matters. Schools must be careful about what information is entered into AI systems, and sensitive or identifiable pupil information should never simply be copied into public AI tools.

AI can also get things wrong. It can produce convincing answers that contain inaccuracies or reflect bias.

That's why AI literacy is so important. We need to help young people learn not just how to use AI, but how to question it.

Is this information accurate? Does it make sense? Could there be another perspective?

These are skills that will become increasingly important as AI becomes part of everyday life.

Keeping people at the centre

For us, the most important thing about AI in education isn't the technology itself. It's what the technology allows us to do.

If AI can reduce administration, perhaps a teacher has more time to spend with a young person. If it can quickly create a differentiated resource, perhaps more time can be spent on supporting individual learning.

The aim isn't to make education less human. It's to use technology in a way that gives us more time to be human.

AI is here to stay. Our challenge is to make sure we use it thoughtfully, ethically and creatively, while keeping relationships, curiosity and the individual young person firmly at the centre of education.

Not "Will AI replace teachers?" but "How can AI help teachers do what they do best?"