How one school is changing education with AI

According to AI, ‘Artificial intelligence’ (AI) is a technology that enables machines to perform complex tasks that typically require human input. AI systems can learn, reason, plan, and be creative, and can adapt their behaviour based on the results of their actions. AI systems learn and improve by analysing large amounts of data and can identify patterns and relationships that humans might miss.'

It sounds complicated but much AI is found in relatively ‘simple’ technology that children already interact with. When Netflix, Spotify, or Amazon recommends what children might like to watch, hear, or add to their Christmas list, AI is at work analysing, summarising, and predicting.

The first generation of children who do not remember a world before AI are now at school. As teachers and schools, we are responsible for teaching them to understand and use it safely and responsibly. We can demonstrate what good, safe AI looks like and, in turn, can enhance learning, teach pupils to be discerning users of technology and prepare them for a world where AI will influence their careers.

At Caterham School, our AI journey began by experimenting with the first iterations of AI platforms, like ChatGPT and Synthesia. We saw that AI had great scope but also some drawbacks, for example, age-inappropriate content and AI doing all the work rather than actively helping pupils engage and learn.

Introducing RileyBot

Knowing that AI wasn’t going away, and with knowledge gained from our explorations, we decided to develop our own AI tools with children at their centre. We recruited machine learning engineers on staff and RileyBot was our first creation, a learning bot crossed with a teacher, delivering the benefits of AI to pupils from age 4 - 18, across the curriculum and focused on supporting learning and safeguarding.

RileyBot is accessed via an app on either classroom devices, family laptops or, for older pupils, phones; pupils can use it for help whenever needed. Unlike other AI bots, Rileybot does not do the work for the pupil, instead it guides them just as their teacher would. The app is connected to the school’s Management Information System (MIS) so it automatically knows each pupil’s age, stage, and any SEND they have, and communicates accordingly. Younger pupils just learning to read often speak to RileyBot whilst older students send in work for review. RileyBot came into its own at Caterham last Spring as Year 11 and 13 students were able to access different revision techniques, a rich supply of sample questions, and revision marking on tap. One pupil with dyscalculia found that RileyBot unlocked a mathematical concept which they had not been able to crack before. They were able to interrogate RileyBot, asking it to simplify the methodology until they understood it.

One pupil with dyscalculia found that RileyBot unlocked a mathematical concept which they had not been able to crack before. They were able to interrogate RileyBot, asking it to simplify the methodology until they understood it.

RileyBot has the persona of a friendly teacher, its smiley robot avatar interacting with pupils in written and aural form and, just like a teacher, RileyBot has pupil safeguarding at its core. Teachers have a dashboard which shows them the questions their pupils are asking and this extends to parents of younger pupils. RileyBot automatically sends teachers alerts if pupils ask questions which flag a concern as well as giving appropriate advice, for example, a pupil asking, ‘I have no one to go to lunch with what shall I do?’ might be directed to a chat with their tutor or another trusted adult and given some conversation starters for chatting to a new group.

We’ve also rolled out RileyBot at other schools and have found that giving pupils access to AI within a purpose-built learning tool has many benefits:

• Pupils learn at their own pace. Pupils can go back for assistance repeatedly, which is particularly helpful when they are ‘stuck’ on homework.

• Pupils access information in the way they understand best, in written or spoken form.

• Pupils can access extension work and receive feedback which is great for revision.

• Increased independent learning. Our research shows that RileyBot increased ‘pupil self-efficacy’ by 16 per cent in just one term! Pupils being able to find their own answers and work more independently boosts their confidence and improves their learning.

• Pupils learn to be discerning. Children have a positive example of AI and learn to use it properly, questioning information and being aware of AI’s shortcomings.

We also found AI benefits teachers. Lesson-planning AI tools, often a simple ChatGPT overlay, can be useful for lesson inspiration, and some subject-specific and homework-marking apps are also popular teachers’ resources.

One of the benefits teachers found using RileyBot was helping manage the different needs of the pupils in their classrooms, as this teacher in one of the East Surrey Learning Partnership primary schools explained, 'It made not just an extra pair of hands, but an extra brain full of information which helped free me up to help physically arrange practical material and run a multi-level lesson to accommodate many different learning styles.'

In busy classrooms, RileyBot helps teachers manage ‘a sea of hands up’. They are able to redirect their more keen and able pupils to the app whilst focusing on pupils who really need their attention -- often the ones who don’t put their hands up. From a pupil’s perspective, even those with the confidence to ask for help often won’t ask again if they don’t understand a teacher’s answer. With RileyBot we have found that pupils greatly value being able to ask a question repeatedly until they ‘get it’. They can respond to their device with an ‘I don’t understand, can you explain that in a different way’ and RileyBot has the infinite patience and time to do just that!

What AI cannot do in schools is function without teachers. Whatever the application, the most effective use of AI needs ongoing teacher input at its heart. Only teachers know the individual and collective needs of pupils in their classrooms. AI works its best if teachers input detailed parameters and ongoing feedback.

We like to envisage a future where AI frees teachers from time-consuming tasks like marking and drafting reports to focus on delivering lessons creatively, understanding their pupils, and teaching children to be excellent humans.

The future of AI in schools

Looking ahead, AI in the classroom could be a physical presence, it could be something like an app that students interact with (such as RileyBot), or it could sit in the background running analytics fed back to the teacher. Indeed, it may be all of those things. If distributed evenly, AI will have the power to provide a more equitable educational experience for pupils in all schools.

There are some basic questions parents can ask to understand more about how schools are preparing their pupils for an AI world. A school’s AI policy is a good place to start and it can be simple, making three key points:

1. The school will tell pupils when they are using AI

2. Pupils will tell the school when they are using AI

3. The school will use data responsibly

Parents can also ask if the school has an AI lead, which platforms they are using, how they are monitoring AI use, and how they are helping pupils understand areas like bias, truth, and ethics.

Human understanding remains key to the effective use of AI. We have found that the insights teachers have brought to the development of AI-powered tools like RileyBot sets it apart from products developed by tech firms on the outside of schools looking in.