Beyond Marking: How UK Teachers Are Getting Creative with AI

Summary: The headlines focus on AI marking, but lots of UK teachers are using tools like ChatGPT for far more than feedback: planning, resource creation, differentiation, classroom activities, and even communication. The pattern is consistent — AI drafts and suggests; teachers check, refine, and teach.

Beyond marking: what teachers are actually doing with AI

We all know the buzz around AI like ChatGPT in education. While plenty of coverage centres on marking and feedback, it's worth looking further.

How else are innovative UK teachers using these tools to lighten their load and add a bit of energy to lessons?

Quite a lot.

Within a year of ChatGPT's arrival, some surveys suggested that around a third of UK teachers were already using AI for work tasks — and not just for essays. Inspired by wider reporting into AI use (especially in secondary settings), here are some practical, classroom-realistic ways teachers are using AI beyond the marking pile.

1) Supercharging lesson planning and prep

Think of AI as a brainstorming partner or a super-efficient planning assistant. Teachers are using it for:

Generating ideas quickly

Stuck for a starter on supply and demand? Need fresh discussion prompts for Of Mice and Men? AI can generate lists of ideas in seconds.

Some trials and school pilots have reported small but meaningful time savings in planning without a drop in lesson quality — but the key is how teachers use the output (more on that below).

Creating draft resources

Teachers are prompting AI to produce first drafts of:

• worksheets and retrieval questions
• comprehension tasks
• case studies for Business or Economics
• model paragraphs and sentence starters
• exit tickets and mini-quizzes

One teacher I spoke to even set up a daily AI prompt for relevant A-Level news updates to keep classroom discussion fresh (and to avoid spending half an evening hunting for the perfect article).

Differentiation made easier

Got a great article that's perfect for most of the class but too dense for others?

Teachers are using AI to:

• simplify texts while keeping the core meaning
• generate versions at different reading levels
• rephrase material for EAL learners
• create extra scaffolding (key words, sentence stems, structured writing frames)

The teacher touch

The important point: teachers aren't just copy-pasting.

They're using AI output as a starting point, then:

• checking facts (AI can get things wrong)
• editing language to match the class
• aligning tasks with the spec and exam technique
• removing anything that doesn't fit their students

AI drafts. Teachers teach.

2) Bringing AI into the classroom

AI isn't only a behind-the-scenes tool. Used carefully, it can support engagement and learning during lessons.

The AI guest speaker

Imagine students interviewing Charles Darwin about evolution.

One teacher did exactly that, prompting the AI to role-play as Darwin and answer student questions (screened by the teacher first). Engagement went through the roof, because students were interacting with ideas, not passively receiving them.

Breaking down barriers to deeper thinking

Studying Shakespeare?

Some teachers let students (under guidance) use AI to paraphrase tricky lines into modern English so students can spend more time on analysis, themes, and writer's methods rather than getting stuck on comprehension.

Language teachers are exploring AI chatbots for structured conversation practice too — again, with clear guardrails.

Adding a bit of fun

AI is being used to generate memorable hooks:

• songs or raps to help recall tricky concepts
• quirky examples that make abstract ideas more concrete
• playful "explain it like I'm 10" rephrasings before moving back to proper academic language

Teaching about AI through critique

A genuinely useful classroom move:

• show students an AI-generated answer
• ask them to critique it
• identify what's good, what's weak, and what's missing

It builds critical thinking and digital literacy — and helps students understand that AI can sound confident while still being wrong.

The teacher touch

This only works when teachers set the rules and mediate use:

• clear boundaries
• clear learning objectives
• careful screening for appropriateness and accuracy

AI can enhance learning, but it shouldn't replace the fundamentals.

3) Personalising student support

Used sensibly, AI can help teachers meet individual needs more efficiently.

Tailored practice

Teachers are using AI to generate:

• extra practice for students who need reinforcement
• extension tasks for high attainers
• topic-specific multiple choice, short-answer, and exam-style prompts

On-demand explanations (with safety rails)

Teachers are also teaching students how to use AI as a study buddy:

• "Explain this concept in a simpler way"
• "Quiz me on this topic"
• "Give me two misconceptions and how to avoid them"

…with a constant reminder to double-check accuracy and use it as support, not authority.

Bridging communication gaps

AI can help draft:

• clear, empathetic emails to parents
• short, polite messages for difficult conversations
• translated versions for families who speak other languages (with sensible checking)

SEN support ideas (with caution)

Teachers are using AI to generate suggestions for strategies (e.g. dyslexia-friendly formatting ideas, step-by-step task breakdowns, social story outlines) — then adapting them using their knowledge of the student and what actually works.

The teacher touch

This is where caution really matters.

AI isn't a counsellor or SEN specialist. Teachers use it thoughtfully, verify suggestions, and keep student welfare and professional judgement central.

The bottom line: AI as your co-pilot

The message from teachers on the ground is pretty consistent:

AI isn't about replacing educators. It's about augmenting what we do.

It's a co-pilot that can:

• draft routine materials
• spark new approaches
• reduce the admin load
• free up time for the human parts of teaching

Yes, there are challenges: accuracy, ethics, training, and sensible boundaries.

But when used wisely — with the teacher firmly in the driver's seat — AI is proving to be a genuinely useful ally in the busy world of UK education.

Gary Roebuck is Head of Economics at Holy Cross School, New Malden and the creator of TeachEdge.ai.