AI for teachers

At a glance

The real work of teaching — explaining in class, understanding each student, helping them move forward — is something AI won't do for you, and isn't meant to. But for the time-consuming preparation — making lesson plans, finding ways to explain the same thing in different ways, writing questions — AI can work like a quick assistant. The time you save on preparation can go to your class and your students.

Where it helps most

Say you're teaching "reflection of light" to grade 7 tomorrow. Tell AI the topic and it can draft a 40-minute structure, a few examples and an idea for a short activity — you just adjust it to fit your own class.

In any class, some students get it quickly and some don't. You can ask AI to explain the same topic in even simpler words, or with a different real-life example — so you walk into class with more than one way to explain it.

When you need practice questions at the end of a chapter, give AI the content and it can draft some — multiple-choice or short questions, you check them and fix them up.

Before you read essay-type answers, you can ask for a sample answer or a marking guide, so that when you mark a lot of papers your marking is more consistent.

If you need to write a polite, clear message to a parent about a student's absence or progress, AI can help with a draft, which you can then change a little into your own words before sending.

Try it yourself Time: 5 minutes

1. 1.Open the Gemini or ChatGPT app on your phone.
2. 2.Pick a topic you will teach next week.
3. 3.Delete what's inside the square brackets [ ] and put in your own details, then send it like this:

   I will teach grade 8 students [the water cycle]. Make me a simple 40-minute lesson plan with one real-life example and one short activity.

   Copy
4. 4.When you get the answer, also ask for some practice questions on the same topic:

   Make 5 short questions on the topic above, suitable for grade 8, from easy to a little harder.

   Copy
5. 5.Read both answers carefully — check that the facts match your textbook, adjust them in your own way, and then take them to class.