The integration of generative AI into education presents both opportunities and challenges for teacher training. While AI can enhance lesson planning, streamline administrative tasks, and support student learning, concerns around academic integrity, ethical use, and assessment practices remain unresolved. As the next generation of teachers enters the profession, they must be equipped with the skills to use AI effectively while maintaining the integrity of the learning process.

Understanding the Role of Generative AI in Education

Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, have evolved rapidly, offering teachers a range of functionalities. From generating lesson plans and quizzes to providing feedback on student work, AI can serve as a valuable assistant in reducing workload and improving efficiency. However, these tools are not foolproof. They can introduce biases, generate misinformation, and create a dependency that limits critical thinking and pedagogical creativity. Teachers-in-training must, therefore, be educated on both the benefits and limitations of AI to make informed decisions about its use.

The Department for Education (DfE) has acknowledged AI’s potential, particularly in reducing teacher workload and supporting students with special educational needs. However, the conversation around AI in education must go beyond workload management and consider how to develop students’ digital literacy and ethical awareness.

Training Teachers to Use AI Responsibly

Teacher training programmes must prepare educators to incorporate AI into their teaching practices while safeguarding academic and professional integrity. Key areas of focus should include:

1. Critical Engagement with AI-Generated Content – Teachers should be trained to evaluate AI-generated resources critically, ensuring accuracy and relevance. AI should not replace pedagogical expertise but serve as a supplementary tool.

2. Academic Integrity and AI – One of the greatest concerns around AI in education is its potential for misuse in assessments. AI can produce essays, lesson plans, and even fictional case studies that appear credible. Teacher trainees must understand the ethical boundaries of AI use and develop assessment strategies that encourage original thinking.

3. Promoting AI Literacy in Schools – Just as teachers need training in AI, students must also develop AI literacy. Schools should teach students how AI works, its limitations, and how to use it responsibly. This ensures that AI is not simply a tool for generating content but a subject of inquiry in itself.

4. Assessment in the Age of AI – Traditional essay-based coursework is increasingly vulnerable to AI-generated work. Teacher training programmes should explore alternative assessment methods that focus on in-class engagement, oral presentations, and problem-solving tasks that cannot be outsourced to AI.

5. AI for Differentiation and Accessibility – AI can be a powerful tool for creating adaptive learning materials tailored to individual student needs. Trainee teachers should learn how to use AI to create accessible learning resources that support diverse learners, particularly those with special educational needs.

Overcoming Institutional Hesitation

Despite AI’s presence in education, many universities and teacher training institutions remain hesitant to integrate AI into their programmes. Some are waiting for official guidance, while others focus primarily on AI’s risks rather than its potential benefits. However, with AI already shaping classroom experiences, waiting for top-down directives is no longer a viable approach.

At institutions such as Roehampton University, efforts have been made to proactively address AI’s role in education. Initiatives include workshops for teacher trainees, AI policy development, and discussions around ethical AI use. Such proactive measures ensure that teachers enter the workforce prepared to navigate AI-related challenges.

AI as a Teaching and Learning Partner

The ethical use of AI extends beyond preventing plagiarism and misconduct. Teachers can harness AI to improve their own practice, using it for reflective teaching exercises, analysing classroom interactions, and experimenting with AI-driven role-playing scenarios to develop classroom management skills. For instance, AI can simulate parent-teacher meetings or student interactions, allowing trainees to refine their responses in a low-risk environment.

Moreover, AI can facilitate professional development by providing immediate feedback on teaching strategies. I experimented with using AI to analyse my questioning techniques in lectures, offering insights that would typically require rather more stressful external observation.

Moving Forward

The conversation around AI in teacher training must shift from apprehension to informed application. While AI presents new challenges, it also offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance teaching and learning. Training new teachers to use AI effectively and ethically is not just a recommendation — it is a necessity.

By embedding AI literacy into teacher training, fostering critical engagement with AI tools, and developing assessment methods that prioritise genuine learning, the education sector can ensure that AI enhances, rather than undermines, the integrity of teaching and learning. Institutions must take the lead in equipping teachers with the skills to use AI wisely, ensuring that it becomes a valuable ally rather than a shortcut to circumvent the learning process.

Based on my talk at a CRESTEM seminar, King’s College London