Emanuel School on boarding the AI train

Daniel Martin, SMT Associate for Digital Learning and Innovation at Emanuel School, says boarding the AI train was mandatory for all educators, but the journey can be smooth

For many schools, managing pupils’ use of AI has felt like being on a train they didn’t decide to board and cannot get off. With free large language models so readily available, pupils look to these platforms regularly to reduce their workload, generate ideas and deepen the quality of their learning.

This can be both beneficial and detrimental – we have entered a new era in education and cannot go back. Schools must now educate students on how to use AI in a safe, ethical and educationally beneficial manner, but how are we to do this? I believe the answer lies in positivity.

It is impossible for schools to guide their pupils on effective AI practice if members of the teaching staff do not understand for themselves what this means. At Emanuel School, our AI journey began with empowering staff. We wrote and published an AI guide on how to write prompts and what was acceptable AI practice (this is available for free on the school website under the name ‘Your MAIT’).

We also founded a new staff group, ‘Tech4Teachers’, which meets once every half term to show-and-tell how AI has been beneficial to our pedagogy. The benefit of this was not only allowing staff to reduce their workload and plan for more engaging lessons with AI’s assistance. Teachers now fundamentally understand what draws our pupils to these platforms, how they can add or detract from their understanding and what tools work for which function.

“If pupils are going to use AI, let’s get them using it in the best way possible – assess the risks and positives for themselves and practice using AI beneficially”

Our second phase has focused on making it clear to pupils when AI use will genuinely improve their long-term learning and when its use would be considered unethical, dangerous or damaging to their education. While it would be easy to approach pupils with a long list of ‘don’ts’ and the threat of various sanctions, we decided instead to root the message in positivity. If pupils are going to use AI, let’s get them using it in the best way possible. The publication of a student guide (AMAISE), and several assemblies, have allowed pupils to understand the context, assess the risks and positives for themselves and practice using AI beneficially.

Our recent prompt writing competition for Y10 and Y12 saw 95 entrants. Pupils submitted exemplar prompts from a range of subjects, utilising ChatGPT as a tutor, revision assistant and facilitator to their learning. In seeing our pupils model innovative and mature methods of using AI, we have validated that our approach is working and have been able to re-circulate best practice to the wider school.

AI is part of everyday life in our schools and pupils will use it. As educators, we now have the responsibility to guide them in the right direction. When deciding to approach AI with positivity, we empower staff and students with the skills needed to use AI beneficially. This creates classrooms where best practice is established, discussed and implemented.  

While our ride upon the AI train remains mandatory and inescapable, we can have an impact on the destination by creating opportunities for pupils to benefit from a powerful educational tool, the likes of which has never existed before.

Emanuel School emanuel.org.uk

Further reading: Framlingham College on enhanced learning