UK Govt Unveils AI Blueprint

Hi human,

It has been a busy week in AI this week with the announcement of how the UK government wants to turbo charge all aspects of government with AI unleash productivity. Read on to hear what that may mean for education.

📚 Knowledge builders

•  AI Tutoring improves learning → If you are self-motivated individual in university then it turns out that using ChatGPT as a tutor can be very effective. In fact, the use of ChatGPT, as reported in the meta-analysis above, suggests it has the following advantages:

  ChatGPT enhances academic performance.

  ChatGPT boosts affective-motivational states.

  ChatGPT improves higher-order thinking propensities.

  ChatGPT reduces mental effort.

  ChatGPT does not influence self-efficacy.

• Bradly Busch has a good take, which I am in agreement with, on this study in a blog here.

🤖 Industry updates

• UK Govt AI Blueprint → The UK Government has announced a blueprint to boost AI for economic and educational growth, focusing on preparing the workforce for a tech-driven future. Notable points to position the UK to be an AI maker, not an AI taker included:

  • Addressing skill gaps: Partnering with others to tackle shortages in AI and tech skills, this includes hackathons and competitions in schools which have already proved to be effective.

  • Training for change: Equipping workers to thrive in a fast-evolving, AI-driven economy.

  • Enhancing AI education: Supporting schools and universities to deliver more AI graduates and practical training through FE and apprenticeships.

  • Assessment and diagnosis: The DfE also anticipate that AI will be a useful tool for assessment in the education sector. For example, a recent pilot showed 92% accuracy with teachers on year 4 literacy work (link)

  • Lifelong learning: Helping people adapt to ongoing technological changes.

  What this means for education: AI is going to be at the forefront of the government education plans for the future. They have already invested £1 million (link) to support developers creating AI tools for marking and feedback and Skills England will help ensure that British people are prepared for jobs in the AI-powered industries of tomorrow

• 69% → That’s the percentage of teachers who have used AI at some point. This number is steadily increasing which is interesting to see. What would be great is more information on what they are using it for.

✨ Fresh prompts

I recently came across this AI tool that takes lesson plans and provides a report on how well it meets criteria from the Teacher Standards and the ECF. It is a free tool to use and certainly looks like it would be useful for trainee teachers who are usually required to write lesson plans in detail to evidence against the Teacher Standards. It is worth pointing out that a similar outcome could be achieved by uploading a lesson plan, the Teacher Standards and the ECF to an AI chatbot with the following prompt:

You are an expert in lesson planning using the latest evidence from the Early Career Framework and the Teacher Standards. Generate a report of this lesson plan that provides some feedback on how well it meets the requirements of the Teacher Standards and the ECF. Provide some additional guidance as to how I can improve what you believe to be the 3 weakest areas of the plan. The guidance must focus on ideas that I can practically do in the classroom such as asking certain questions or including more checks for understanding at certain points. Only include ideas relevant to the Teacher Standards or the Early Career Framework.

As ever, thanks for reading and keep on prompting! Mr A 🦾