ChatGPT could cut lesson planning time by over 30 per cent - EEF
Teachers using ChatGPT, alongside a guide to support them to use it effectively, can reduce their lesson planning time by 31 per cent, according to a trial study.
The research, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), and commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), investigated teachers’ use of ChatGPT during lesson and resource planning and the impact on their workload. ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in 2022. 259 teachers in 68 secondary schools across England took part in the randomised controlled trial. Of those, 129 teachers in 34 schools were randomly allocated to use ChatGPT alongside a guide on effective implementation, to support lesson and resource preparation for their Year 7 and 8 science classes.
The teachers who were allocated to use ChatGPT in the trial used it to help with tasks that included creating questions and quizzes, generating activity ideas, and tailoring existing materials to specific groups of pupils. On average, teachers used ChatGPT to support a third of their Year 7 and 8 science lessons and most commonly to plan for one activity within each lesson.
Evaluation found that, on average, the group of teachers who used ChatGPT shaved 25.3 minutes from their weekly Year 7 and 8 lesson and resource planning time, compared to the comparison group of teachers who were asked not to use ChatGPT, or any other generative AI tools. This brought their Year 7 and 8 planning time down to 56.2 minutes per week compared to 81.5 minutes in the group asked to avoid using any generative AI.
As well as looking at the impact on workload of utilising ChatGPT, the research also considered the key question of its impact on lesson quality. A sample of lesson materials and resources collected from teachers were reviewed by an independent panel of teachers. The analysis indicated no noticeable difference in quality between the two groups, with teachers’ own perception of the quality of the resources they had produced also aligned with this finding. However due to the small sample size the researchers suggest this finding be treated with caution.
Emily Yeomans, co-chief executive at EEF said: ‘It’s promising to see the positive findings coming through from this research. This provides us with the interesting first piece in the puzzle of AI’s role in the future of teaching.’ She added: ‘Now we must look to build a far clearer picture of the best use of AI in education, using this initial research as a springboard to further research and development of an evidence-informed approach.’
Education minister Stephen Morgan MP commented: ‘This research shows how AI represents an exciting opportunity to give our school leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life. That’s why the government has announced £4m investment to make AI tools safer and more reliable for classroom use, and why we continue to engage with the sector, developers and parents to ensure we make tech work for our hard-working teachers and ease the pressures and workload burdens we know are facing the profession.’
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, remarked: ‘This is an interesting study which adds to the growing sense that there is the opportunity to make significant time savings by using AI tools, where access to the appropriate resources and training is available. The important thing is that there remains a human element to oversee the quality and reliability of any AI-generated materials. Moreover, AI is not a magic bullet which will on its own solve the multiple staffing pressures in the education system. The fundamental problems are that schools and colleges do not have the level of funding required to meet the many expectations on them, and that there are severe staffing shortages. Only sufficient investment in schools, colleges and the education workforce will address these problems.’
Full study: https://tinyurl.com/bdc9h42s