Episodes

  • Student Perspectives AI: Only 44% Think AI Homework is Cheating

    Student Perspectives AI: Only 44% Think AI Homework is Cheating
    Jun 16 2026

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    Only four in ten teenagers believe using AI for all homework is cheating, revealing a massive grey area for student perspectives AI.

    In this episode:

    • A study by Oxford University Press reveals only 44% of students believe using AI for all homework is cheating, highlighting complex student perspectives AI.
    • Despite varied views on AI cheating homework, 72% of students prefer not to use AI for school tasks, valuing their own voice and teacher's unique human qualities.
    • Students are asking for clear guidance on AI use in schools, with 77% wanting teachers to integrate AI to make complex work easier and offer more one-to-one support.
    • Teachers should start AI integration with low-risk tasks and focus on teaching the AI native generation how to critically evaluate AI outputs as 'first drafts.'
    • Chris Goodall of Bourne Education Trust points out that if students resort to AI shortcuts, it's often a 'task design problem,' emphasizing the need for pedagogy that encourages deep thinking.

    Chapters:

    • 00:00 — Cold open & welcome
    • 00:30 — Exploring student perspectives AI: The Oxford University Press report
    • 01:25 — Only 44% think AI homework is cheating: Understanding student nuance
    • 02:30 — Why students hesitate to use AI: Valuing their own voice
    • 03:45 — The irreplaceable value of teachers according to students
    • 04:30 — What students want from AI: Augmentation, not replacement
    • 05:45 — Practical tips for teachers and school leaders to navigate AI in education
    • 07:00 — Addressing AI anxiety and the 'first draft' principle
    • 07:55 — Rethinking task design to prevent AI cheating homework
    • 08:45 — Proactive leadership and a reassuring outlook on the AI native generation

    How do student perspectives AI define cheating?
    Only 44% of students consider using AI for all homework to be cheating, but nearly one in five think even asking for homework tips from AI is cheating, showing a wide range of understanding.

    What do students value most in their teachers regarding AI in education?
    Students highly value their teachers' empathy, ability to explain concepts in different ways, and their personality, recognizing these as qualities AI cannot replace.

    How can teachers best integrate AI use in schools?
    Teachers should start with low-risk tasks like drafting emails, provide specific AI instructions, and treat all AI outputs as 'first drafts,' critically reviewing them with their expertise.

    Featuring: Dan Fitzpatrick, Oxford University Press, Teaching the AI Native Generation report, Dr Alexandra Tomescu, Dr Sara Ratner, AI in Education Oxford University (AIEOU), Judith Grey, Oxford’s Educational Research Forum.

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    10 mins
  • Can school leaders keep up with AI?

    Can school leaders keep up with AI?
    Jun 15 2026

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    Highlights
    - Today we are exploring a new essay by Dario Amodei, the founder of Anthropic, the company behind Claude, which is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful AIs we have in the world right now.
    - Because in many ways, we're the Hobbits, sometimes, trying to rouse our own Treebeard.
    - Now, those are global, existential threats, and it might feel a bit dramatic for a Year 8 geography lesson.
    - The core challenge, he argues, won't be incentivizing growth, but finding a way for everyone to share in the benefits, and crucially, for people to find meaning, purpose, and agency in a world where machines can do so much.
    - We need to proactively identify these areas and establish standards for integrating AI to achieve genuine efficiencies, giving teachers back time, focus, and energy to connect with students.
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    13 mins
  • How does AI truly transform classroom practice?

    How does AI truly transform classroom practice?
    Jun 12 2026

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    Highlights
    - Today we are exploring a sentiment that echoes through so much of the current educational discourse: "Artificial intelligence in education is transforming classrooms." This phrase, this idea, you hear it everywhere, in articles, in webinars, in conversations in the staffroom.
    - The real value, the real transformation, comes when we are intentional about *how* we integrate it, and always, always, start with purpose over technology.
    - Marking formative assessments, drafting communications, generating starter activities, differentiating content for varying reading levels in a Year 7 English class.
    - We're designing learning that cannot be faked because it demands depth, care, and imagination.
    - Encourage those "Coffee Cart conversations" where teachers can share quick wins and frustrations informally.
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    8 mins
  • Will AI transform education more than the internet?

    Will AI transform education more than the internet?
    Jun 10 2026

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    Highlights
    - Today we are exploring a really striking piece of reporting from NPR, by Lee V.
    - What we’re seeing, and what teachers are intuiting, is that AI fundamentally alters how we process information, how we create, how we learn, and how we assess.
    - Before, they'd spend hours sifting through websites, trying to summarise and synthesise information.
    - Teachers often get labelled as resistant to change, but more often than not, they just need time and space.
    - AI is helping us hold the complexity, so we have more capacity for creativity, for connection, for the deeply human parts of education.

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    7 mins
  • Are schools teaching the right AI skills?

    Are schools teaching the right AI skills?
    Jun 10 2026

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    Highlights
    - Today we are exploring a headline from the Financial Times that really caught my eye.
    - It’s because they’re struggling to use AI as a tool to *augment* their own capabilities, to make their human work better, faster, and more insightful.
    - So, what does this look like in a concrete educational setting?
    - Maybe it’s using AI to differentiate learning materials more quickly for a diverse class, or to generate varied practice questions for a specific topic, freeing the teacher to spend more time on one-on-one student interaction.
    - If AI can produce sophisticated 'products,' then our assessments need to go beyond just the product.

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    9 mins
  • Is 'prompt engineering' still vital for teachers?

    Is 'prompt engineering' still vital for teachers?
    Jun 9 2026

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    Highlights
    - Today we are exploring an article I wrote for Forbes this week, simply titled "Prompt Engineering Isn't Dead, But The Caricature Is." It's a piece where I tried to cut through some of the noise about a topic that's often talked about, but rarely deeply understood.
    - Early systems, when they first came out, rewarded a kind of incantation.
    - We're not teaching students to outsmart machines with clever tricks; we're teaching them to outthink them by designing better processes.
    - You adjust your communication, you say more, or you break it down differently.
    - It builds AI literacy around four key capabilities: engaging with AI, creating with it, managing it, and designing it.

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    11 mins
  • How can AI boost classroom learning outcomes?

    How can AI boost classroom learning outcomes?
    Jun 8 2026

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    Highlights
    * Instead of banning AI, leverage it by redesigning assignments, such as coding an adventure game and then using AI to expand its narrative, focusing on student interaction with the tool.
    * Shift from simply using AI to critically evaluating its outputs; focus professional development on understanding AI's limitations, biases, and ethical implications within specific subject areas.
    * Prioritize "Purpose Over Technology" by defining *why* a subject is taught and what human capabilities are cultivated *before* determining how AI might serve those educational goals.
    * Raise expectations for student work: if AI can produce mediocre essays, design assignments that demand depth, critical thought, unique context, and genuine imagination that machines cannot replicate.
    * Approach AI integration with an evidence-based mindset, questioning assumptions about cheating or workload reduction, and researching its actual impact on learning processes.
    * Implement a "human-in-the-loop" principle, where educators use AI outputs as drafts, applying their wisdom, judgment, and care to refine and improve them, protecting core human domains.

    Mentioned
    * *Stanford Report*
    * Mehran Sahami
    * Karin Forssell
    * Victor Lee
    * Stanford’s Computer Science 106A
    * "Infinite Story" assignment
    * Stanford’s AI Tinkery
    * "Purpose Over Technology" framework
    * "Three Ps" of assessment

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    10 mins
  • Does AI make educators doubt their judgment?

    Does AI make educators doubt their judgment?
    Jun 5 2026

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    Highlights
    * Over-reliance on AI can subtly erode an educator's judgment and authenticity, leading to moments of self-doubt even for seasoned professionals who *know* their material is good.
    * Generative AI's confident fluency can lead students (and educators) to project human intent and authority onto it, making them susceptible to "persuasion-bombing" and outsourcing their own critical judgment.
    * Humans possess three irreplaceable qualities that AI cannot replicate: the capacity for *purpose* (asking 'why,' understanding consequences), *character* (authenticity, integrity, empathy), and the creation of *mental models* coupled with *interoception* (embodied sensing and understanding).
    * Allowing AI to constantly outsource writing or problem-solving can lead to "cognitive atrophy," where students feel worse about their own abilities and lose their unique voice, highlighting the need for "beneficial friction" in AI use.
    * Educators must design tasks that demand depth, care, and imagination, pushing students beyond cool AI answers to grapple with the underlying 'why,' consider real-world fallout, and cultivate their own transferable understandings and embodied learning.
    * Strategies for educators include "authoring first" before AI refinement, setting limits on AI usage, prioritizing human relationship, consciously noting what AI *cannot* do, and maintaining vigilant oversight.

    Mentioned
    * Deborah Ancona
    * Kate W. Isaacs
    * MIT Sloan Management Review
    * ChatGPT
    * BCG study
    * Renee Gosline

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    15 mins