Kent teachers say AI not capable of replacing the real deal
Members of the National Education Union want artificial intelligence to have less input in the classroom
Teachers in Kent and across the UK are speaking out against the use of AI in lesson planning, teaching and curriculum setting.
Paige Horsford is a secondary school Head of Media in New Romney, and joint district secretary for South Kent National Education Union, she told us that AI couldn't match up to trained teaching staff:
"I'm a GCSE teacher, and I know that sometimes I will not teach things in the interests of teaching to the test instead of teaching content.
"I think also we're seeing this new thing with virtual teachers, Oak Academy, these sort of programs that have been bought in to replace having an actual qualified teacher in the room.
"We don't want to press play on a YouTube video. That's not what we want. We want to use our subjects specialisms to pass on that other learning to the next generation.
"A YouTube video or an Oak Academy video or or an AI teacher just can't do that."
The National Education Union (NEU) have called for a new curriculum to be developed that centres teachers. At their Brighton conference last week, general secretary Daniel Kebede said:
"Teachers need confidence in the curriculum and assessment changes. Developing teachers’ skills, with access to high quality training and development, is linked to the quality of outcomes for children and young people. It is so important that the curriculum is relevant and engaging for students and teachers must be encouraged to design learning rather than rely solely on standardised curriculum packages.
"In the age of AI, it is absolutely vital that teachers’ skills and judgements are valued. It is teachers who best know how to differentiate the curriculum and adapt it for their students. A highly confident profession, trusted by government, is shown internationally to be closely linked to good outcomes and equity in school systems.
"The new curriculum must be developed with teachers, rather than handed down to them, because they have professional expertise, and sustaining and building on that expertise is essential to the health of our education system."
Oak National Academy is a teaching resource created by the UK Government during the pandemic to provide schools with free teaching resources, including a free ai-powered lesson assistant called Aila.
The department of Education and Oak National Academy were both asked for comment.