Around eight in 10 teachers say they have had to rethink how they set assignments because of artificial intelligence (AI), a new survey has found.

The British Council put questions to 1,000 UK secondary teachers on how the rise of AI and digital culture is impacting the classroom.

Responses show teachers have concerns about how AI is affecting students’ communication and writing quality.

AI is changing how teachers set work

In total, 79 per cent of teachers said they have had to rethink the manner in which they set assignments as a result of AI.

The majority of teachers (59 per cent) have created work that aims to incorporate AI appropriately, while 38 per cent have designed tasks to ensure AI is not used. Some teachers have used both of these approaches.

Another 21 per cent of respondents said they have not changed the way they set assignments, but of these, 17 per cent said they are considering making changes.

Impact in the classroom

Secondary school teachers were also asked about the changes they had noticed in their students’ learning as a result of AI.

Some 26 per cent of respondents said they had noticed a decline in writing quality as a result of increased AI usage, and a similar proportion said students were having difficulty comprehending complex tests.

And 25 per cent of respondents said they had noticed students having a narrower vocabulary as a result of AI, and 23 per cent said students’ originality and personal voice were less prevalent in their written work.

Students had shorter attention spans during lessons, according to 25 per cent of teachers surveyed, and 22 per cent said students found it harder to maintain attention on longer texts.

Amy Lightfoot, academic director for English and school education at the British Council, said: “AI and digital culture are fundamentally reshaping how young people communicate and learn. We commissioned this survey to get a better understanding of what teachers are experiencing on the ground, not just the challenges but the opportunities they’re seeing in classrooms as digital learning and AI develop.

“The sheer scale of changes teachers are having to make is striking - nearly 80 per cent are already rethinking how they set assignments because of AI. That’s a seismic shift in teaching practice in a very short space of time.”

AI is changing student communication

Of secondary teachers surveyed, 60 per cent said they were worried about how AI was changing the way students communicate, with 24 per cent of respondents saying they strongly agreed that this was a concern. Only 20 per cent of teachers disagreed that AI was changing how students communicate.

Respondents indicated that students’ confidence in speaking without instant access to information and their attention during in-person discussions had worsened.

Some 39 per cent also said that non-verbal communication, such as eye contact and body language, had declined, and 33 per cent had noticed improvement.

Ms Lightfoot added that the survey had presented a “significantly mixed picture in terms of the attitudes towards AI”.

“While 60 per cent of teachers worry about its impact on communication skills, many are also seeing real positives - over a third report improved listening skills, and around a quarter notice students learning more about other cultures and showing greater creativity,” she added.

What AI tools are students using?

Teachers said the most commonly used AI programmes by students were grammar or spelling checkers, with 29 per cent of respondents noticing their use in schoolwork.

Some 27 per cent of respondents also said they recognised students using general-purpose AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, and 26 per cent said they noticed young people using specialised AI essay-writing or content generation tools.

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, told Tes that AI offers benefits and opportunities for teaching and learning, but also creates “risks and pitfalls” and teachers need support to “carefully navigate” its use.

She said: “If schools are to have the confidence to support students on safe and beneficial use of AI, and identify inappropriate use of the technology, they need ongoing guidance, support and funded training.”

Need for more support

Ms Hannafin said the sector must work together to prevent plagiarism due to AI usage, and that young people need to understand when it is appropriate to use it, as well as the limitations of tools.

“The expectations on schools and colleges to detect any misuse must be proportionate and not place unreasonable burdens on teachers”, she added.

Tom Middlehurst, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said there is “clearly a need to provide more guidance” to help teachers prevent their students from simply generating AI answers.

Mr Middlehurst said it is “understandable” that existing Department for Education guidance is largely concerned with issues like safety and reliability, but a “suite of resources” specific to students’ AI usage is needed.

You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android