Case study: Generative AI in secondary schools

Advances in generative AI are transforming educational practices, presenting opportunities for innovative teaching and learning approaches to AI literacy among children.

The research question

It is crucial to integrate AI education into the school curriculum to ensure all students, especially those in socio-economic deprivation and rural areas, have equal access to AI learning. 

Teachers often lack opportunities to develop their AI knowledge, making professional learning essential to help them explore AI applications in classrooms. Research is required to develop effective and scalable forms of teacher education for this purpose.

A female school teacher in a computer lab speaking to three teenage girls sitting in front of a laptop.
Image credit: Getty Images/Maskot

Project aims and objectives

This project – supported through Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL) seedcorn funding - aims to enhance secondary school teacher’s knowledge and attitudes towards generative AI through professional learning workshops, focusing on socio-economically deprived areas. 

It will assess current AI use in schools, the impact of teacher professional learning on classroom practices and attitudes, and the scalability of the Knowledge Creating Community (KCC) model. This model is a collaborative framework where individuals and groups actively share, create, and improve knowledge through collective engagement and supportive technologies.

Objectives

  1. Explore teacher’s knowledge and attitudes towards generative AI.
  2. Develop professional learning workshops for secondary school teachers. These workshops will educate a community of lead teachers on GenAI in preparation for teaching their colleagues in their own and neighbouring schools.  
  3. To understand in what ways GenAI is currently being used in secondary schools.
  4. To understand the impact of teacher professional learning about GenAI tools on classroom practices.
  5. To understand to what extent the KCC approach to professional learning is scalable for teaching about GenAI, and what are the barriers to future adoption.

Implications

The benefits of Generative AI to the education sector are profound, however, at the same time, the technology presents significant challenges around equality of access and consistency of implementation.

By investigating a model for secondary school teachers’ professional learning about Generative AI, this project aims to evaluate a scalable and sustainable approach to educating teachers about the discipline and creating effective classroom practices.

In the future, potential implications include transforming teaching and learning through Generative AI, promoting AI literacy among children, and ensuring equitable access in socio-economically deprived and rural areas. 

Research leads

  • Professor Judy Robertson (Chair in Digital Learning, University of Edinburgh)
  • Fiona McNeill (Reader in Computer Science Education, University of Edinburgh)
  • Kate Farrell (Director of Curriculum Development and Professional Learning, Data Education in Schools, University of Edinburgh)

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