Teach-Primary-Issue-20.1

38 | www.teachwire.net The copy and paste curriculum Requesting ‘a KS1 sequence on adjectives’ from AI and pasting it directly into your planner results in a neat yet bland plan, disconnected from your learners. AI doesn’t know about your 30-minute window before assembly or the mysteriously vanished glue sticks. Combining several AI plans often results in a chaotic patchwork of tasks that lack flow. I t’s Friday, and you’re exhausted. Year 6 are trudging through the final hour like extras from The Walking Dead . Year 3 are buzzing from free time; one child is crying over lost gloves, and you’re in dire need of something engaging, purposeful, and deliverable before the final 40 minutes of the teaching day. “I know!” you think. “ChatGPT! It’ll provide the plan I need, complete with a quiz and an exit ticket.” And it will. Sort of . But often, what you receive is a lesson lacking soul – generic, unrealistic, and not tailored to the unique individuals you know so well. Whether it’s the wide-eyed Year 1 students who need a story hook, or a Year 5 class with varied temperaments, AI can’t perceive these nuances. Children have quirks, humour, needs, moods, and a dozen different reactions to the same instruction. A polished AI lesson may look impressive, but it’s empty. Relying on it blindly is counterproductive, contradicting the very reason you reached for the tool initially. Because AI is a tool – a powerful one, but still just a tool. A hammer can drive a nail, but it can’t build a door. AI can support planning, but it can’t replicate your understanding of classroom dynamics, SEN considerations, pastoral issues, department priorities, school culture, or the emotional upheaval of “something happened at lunchtime”. soothe an EYFS meltdown or de-escalate a Year 4 argument. Teaching is as emotional as it is cognitive. The best approach to using AI is simple: think first, then use the tool to refine, extend, adapt, or sense-check. When used effectively, AI can reduce admin, spark creativity, and provide something invaluable in education: time. With practice, you’ll learn which prompts yield the best results. HOW NOT to use AI The good, the bad, and the useful A lot of the magic of AI lies in the prompts you give it. To ensure you stand the best chance of getting something useful out of your request, a detailed and clear brief is essential. For example: We all feel the draw of a Friday afternoon timesaver, but tech-assisted planning is only as good as the info you feed it... ANNA FANNON Similarly, inputting a pupil’s answer into AI for feedback yields responses that sound correct but miss empathy, nuance, and progress recognition. AI won’t notice when a Year 2 child finally uses full stops, or when a Year 6 student’s structure improves dramatically. Your assistant The issue isn’t AI itself, of course. The problem arises when teachers hand over their thinking, instead of using it to enhance their ideas. AI can write text, generate ideas, create images, simplify explanations, and tidy up content, but it can’t “Teaching thrives in unpredictable moments, spontaneous discussions, laughter, connections, and sparks of curiosity.”