Key Points from the UK Government Report

The UK Department for Education recently conducted a Call for Evidence on Generative AI (GenAI) in education, to understand its use across the education sector in England and gather opinions on the opportunities and risks it presents. This week it published its key findings so far.

Here are the key points from the AI report:

Adoption and Application of Generative AI Tools

• GenAI tools are being used in various educational settings, with some institutions already adopting them.
• Applications of GenAI tools include personalized learning, generating simulated environments for immersive learning experiences, and developing interactive educational content.

The most common applications among respondents in teaching roles were creating resources, lesson and curriculum planning, and using GenAI to support administrative tasks

Creating teaching resources included: designing handouts, worksheets, presentations, images, model answers and quizzes. They also used GenAI to develop materials for students, including tailoring materials to cater for pupils with SEND. In primary school
settings, teachers reported using GenAI to create reading materials or comprehension questions for pupils and students

Administrative Tasks included: writing letters and emails (e.g. to staff, pupils and their families), developing communication and marketing (e.g. producing content for newsletters, creating social media posts, writing press releases), summarising meeting minutes, writing documents relating to students and to produce institutional documents (e.g. policy documents, risk assessments and frequently
asked questions).

Assessment marking and feedback uses included: helping to write student reports, generating example questions for exams (including essay questions), producing banks of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), marking or grading student work, and producing marking rubrics.

Impact of Generative AI Tools

• GenAI helped teachers to save time by automating tasks. Quicker lesson planning, note-taking, scheduling, content creation and report writing led to significant time savings.
• High-quality and creative teaching. AI was able to produce creative ideas to teach a course or topic. It could produce a good first version of a resource that teachers could improve upon.
• Some teachers felt empowered and confident by using the AI, in particular those that were not in their strong subject, or where English was a second language. AI provided support.
• GenAI has the potential to enhance learning experiences, support educator development, and improve efficiency in administrative tasks.
• However, concerns about the authenticity and accuracy of generated content have been raised, emphasizing the need for mechanisms to ensure the credibility and reliability of educational materials produced by AI systems.

Challenges to Adopting Generative AI

• Teachers felt there were gaps in their knowledge and skills that hindered their ability to make the best use of AI. Including the generation of useful prompts.
• Concerns about the pace of advancement, tools going out of date quickly, and being overwhelmed by the sheer number of tools.
• Ethical concerns, such as academic integrity and accessibility issues, have been identified.
• Concerns about data protection – safeguarding pupil data and how compliant these tools would be with school GDPR policies.
• Concerns about pupil use – how to deal with students using it for homework and coursework tasks.
• The rapid pace of AI development and the need for appropriate pedagogical approaches to integrate GenAI tools effectively in education are also challenges.

Opportunities for Generative AI in Education

• GenAI can be used to educate students about AI, as it will significantly impact their lives and careers.
• Opportunities include freeing up teacher time, improving educational materials, and generating assessment questions.
• Adaptive teaching- AI can tailor educational materials to specific needs – can simplify explanations and explain concepts to less able students in a way they understand.
• AI can support educator development by creating class outlines, rubrics, and exit slips, generating ideas for classroom activities, and updating curricula based on the latest breakthroughs in their field.

Concerns and Risks of Generative AI in Education

• Inappropriate use of AI can be harmful to students, and there is a need to address potential risks and limitations associated with its use.
• The ability of students and faculty to evaluate when and how to use GenAI effectively will become more significant as the technology continues to grow.
• Data protection, privacy and security were a concern.
• Many respondents feared that students would rely on outsourcing certain types of cognitive tasks—such as essay writing or formulating written answers to questions—which would compromise their knowledge and skill development by encouraging them to passively consume information.
• Tasks perceived to be dull or difficult, and so more likely to be outsourced to GenAI, like marking and writing reports and letters, could hinder teacher skill development.
• Risks of inaccurate outputs, and biased outputs.
• Risk of plagiarism and academic integrity.

Enabling Use and Future Predictions

• Supporting educational staff, pupils, parents, and other stakeholders is crucial for the successful integration of GenAI in education.
• The future evolution of GenAI in education will likely involve continued growth and the development of more education-specific GenAI products.

In conclusion, the report highlights the potential benefits and challenges of using GenAI in education. It emphasizes the importance of addressing ethical concerns, ensuring the credibility of generated content, and supporting stakeholders in the successful integration of GenAI tools in educational settings.

Read the full report here