Teachers use of AI
The introduction of AI - and in particular generative AI – into the mainstream has affected every area of education. It is changing how pupils learn and complete work, how teachers assess and set tasks, and how exam boards and the regulator set guidelines to maintain standards and fairness.
Our research shows, there is great uncertainty around policies, best practice and guidance around how AI can and should be used across the education system.
BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT wanted to understand teachers’ attitudes towards AI, how they were using it in 2024, and how they perceive their own schools’ approach to challenges like plagiarism and assessment.
This research study was conducted between April – June 2024 in two parts. Firstly, 20 one hour long qualitative depth interviews with a range of secondary school teachers informed the development of a quantitative survey. In part two 5,298 secondary school teachers across the UK completed the survey covering 2600 schools.
At the same time, as our research shows, there is great uncertainty around policies, best practice and guidance around how AI can and should be used across the education system.
BCS, the Chartered Institute of IT and CAS wanted to understand teachers’ attitudes towards AI, how they were using it in 2024, and how they perceive their own schools’ approach to challenges like plagiarism and assessment.
This research study was conducted between April – June 2024 in two parts. Firstly, 20 one hour long qualitative depth interviews with a range of secondary school teachers informed the development of a quantitative survey. In part two 5,298 secondary school teachers across the UK completed the survey covering 2600 schools (Reference 1).
The large sample size enabled us look at a range of demographic parameters to see if there were differences, identifying them across geography, private vs state schools, subjects, new vs experienced teachers, age and gender.
The findings revealed that:
- Most teachers (67%) got their introduction to AI via ChatGPT. However, it quickly gained a negative reputation, often seen a way to ‘cheat at homework’ and presenting challenges around fair assessment.
- Most teachers we asked (64%) are not using ChatGPT at all, and of those 19% said they were ‘not interested’ in using AI in future.
- Some 41% of teachers said their school did not have an agreed approach to AI, and 17% didn’t know what, if any, policy their school had agreed.
- 41% of teachers are regularly checking homework / coursework for plagiarism content from the web.
- The most common uses of AI by teachers were for creating quizzes and test materials – although some we surveyed used it to help them write communications to parents and reports.
- Several teachers who are using AI told us they were reluctant to discuss the use of AI with their department heads and headteachers.
- There are still very clear barriers to more widespread uptake of AI by secondary school teachers, ranging from lack of an AI policy in school to lack of formal training, to the negativity surrounding the launch of AI / Chat GPT.
Our AI Community lets you connect with other educators. You can keep up to date with AI news, events and resources when you join the community. You can use the forum to ask for help or how others are approaching AI in their setting.
Videos to highlight how to get the best out of AI as a teacher
Getting Started
How to write a prompt
Lesson Planning with AI
Stunning schemes of work with ChatGPT
Writing a lesson plan
Using YouTube and Generative AI
Misconception Support
Lesson Planning with AI
Creating homework tasks
Engaging lesson ideas
Student Support using AI
Using CoPilot as a tutor
Creating a revision page using Perplexity Pro
Creating revision presentations using Gamma
Assessment with AI
Managing past paper with NotebookLM
Supporting Subject Knowledge
Staying up to date with your subject
Other
Using ChatGPT to check spelling and grammar
Reflecting on your lesson with chatGPT as a coach
Using ChatGPT for hot seating in Primary schools
Student use of AI
Here are some resources that can be used to teach students how to use AI
AI Adventure: Explore, Create, Innovate (for ages 10 - 12)
Click here to access the resourceHow to use AI responsibly (for ages 13+)
click here to access the resourceYear 7 AI usage
Click here to read the blog
AI Case Studies
City of Wolverhampton College
City of Wolverhampton College discuss how the institution integrates AI into its curriculum to enhance teaching and learning. Staff have received training on responsible AI use, and students are encouraged to use AI effectively while adhering to strict guidelines for academic integrity.
The college emphasizes alternative assessment methods to ensure work authenticity and has developed a comprehensive AI policy approved by staff and student representatives.
Stonar School
This case study describes Stonar School's AI chatbot project, designed to teach students—especially those with SEND—coding and AI skills by developing a practical chatbot tool.
The project supports diverse learning needs while promoting digital competency.
Merchant Taylor's school
Merchant Taylors’ School used Co-pilot Studio to create a custom AI chatbot for computer science students.
The chatbot provides reliable, topic-specific answers from trusted resources, supporting students’ learning while allowing teachers to monitor usage. It effectively guides students through coding concepts, definitions, and resources with controlled generative responses.
Resources for AI in Schools
Use of AI Policy Template for Schools & Colleges
click here to view the policy templateTop 10 free AI tools for CompSci teachers & students
click here to access the resourceHow the teacher standards can be supported by AI
click here to access the resourceExternal resources
Use the links below to access AI resources developed by our supporters:
Past events
Please see info below
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Can AI be used to mark accurately, fairly and consistently?
Harriet Page & Diane Dowling , Raspberry Pi Foundation
Explore the use of Large Language Models for evaluating free-text responses to questions. Can an LLM be effectively deployed to achieve the level of assessment provided by an experienced teacher?
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Mastering AI Chatbots: How to Write an Effective Prompt
Mark Pesce
To get the most out of a chatbot, you need a strong foundation in 'prompting' skills. Anyone can pose questions to ChatGPT - but much of the power of AI chatbots lies in their ability to take direction. Adding well-chosen examples turns a 'zero-shot' question into a 'few-shot' prompt, improving the accuracy of the response, while decreasing the probability a chatbot 'hallucinates' its reply. Storytelling techniques - character, context and challenge - help a chatbot generate a richly detailed reply on almost any topic, in almost any tone, from almost any point of view. 'Chain-of-thought' prompts employ a step-by-step instruction process - familiar to all educators - 'teaching' a chatbot how to solve complex problems. But the use of AI chatbots comes with two new responsibilities: first, to protect data, privacy and security; and second, to learn how to discern the difference between 'truthiness' and truth chatbot responses.
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What does excellence look like in an AI-enhanced school?
Laura Knight , Sapio
In this session, Laura Knight will explore the opportunities and challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI) in education. It will showcase examples of innovative AI applications in schools and provide practical inputs and takeaways about policy and practice. We will also discuss the ethical and social implications of AI, such as privacy, bias, and accountability, and the challenges posed around academic integrity. Participants will learn how to evaluate and implement AI solutions in their own educational contexts, and how to foster a culture of excellence and good practice in an AI-enhanced school.
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Hands on AI Masterclass from a former CTO
Dr James Kuht MBE , Inversity
In this session James will do a quick run-through the basics of AI, before getting hands-on. You’ll switch over to your favourite Large Language Model (Gemini, chatGPT, Claude or Bing recommended) to run through some hands-on applications of AI - learning some handy tips and tricks for getting the most out of these tools.
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AI to enhance assessment and integrity
Jonathan O'Donnell and Hazel Hatch , Harris Federation
They shall cover: Current AI tools Harris Federation approach to effective prompts Exploring the following use cases (the pros and cons) Creating MCQ Create exam questions and mark scheme Model answers Marking student work Identify misconceptions Create questions in lessons Use of AI in NEA Ways to identify AI use How to mitigate the risk
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Using AI tools for productivity
Tig Williams -Educational Consultant
Tig Williams will be joining us to talk about how to use AI for productivity. How can it help with planning lessons/assessments? Which AI tool is best to use? What to watch out for
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Teaching AI at KS3
Jane Waite and Ben Garside , Raspberry Pi Foundatioin
In this AI community launch event, Jane Waite and Ben Garside will present the work they have been doing over the past 18 months in developing their understanding of AI education and some of the research and design principles that went into the design of an introductory unit of work on AI for KS3 called Experience AI. Specifically, the session will cover a framework called SEAME, looking at progression across the key stages, research into practice on anthropomorphisation and semantic waves and the key concept of data-driven vs rule-based approaches to program design.
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Introducing AI to Primary Education and KS3 - CAS TC Meeting
Henry Penfold, Ben Davies
Introduction to our exciting new resource, AI Adventure: Explore, Create, Innovate.
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Using Google NotebookLM for Teaching and Learning
Matthew Wemyss
A practical webinar designed for educators and school leaders, exploring Google NotebookLM—an AI-powered assistant that streamlines planning and document review.
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Teaching programming with LLMs
Victoria Cucuiat, Raspberry Pi Foundation
An online session exploring the use of LLMs for teaching text-based programming. Specifically, we explore the use of LLMs to explain programming error messages. Veronica Cucuiat, a Research Scientist at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, describes the findings from a research project on secondary school educators' views of using LLM to explain programming error messages in classrooms.