Teachers everywhere are discovering that AI is a practical assistant that can save hours of planning, spark creativity, and make classrooms more inclusive. Over the past year, I’ve tested and refined the most practical ways educators can use AI. Here are my top 15 strategies every teacher should know:
✏️1. Lesson & Resource Planning
AI can generate lesson outlines, slides, worksheets, and quizzes in minutes.
- Example: Ask, “Create a Year 5 science lesson on ecosystems with differentiated activities.”
- Benefit: Saves hours of prep time, while still allowing teachers to tweak content for their class.
📝2. Feedback & Grading Support
AI tools can provide draft feedback on essays, projects, or homework.
- Example: Paste a student’s writing and ask, “Give constructive feedback aligned with success criteria.”
- Benefit: Teachers stay focused on personal touches while AI handles the repetitive phrasing.
📊 3. Differentiation & Scaffolding
AI can adapt materials for different reading levels or learning needs.
- Example: “Rewrite this text on Ancient Rome for EAL learners at A2 English level.”
- Benefit: Makes inclusion easier without doubling workload.
🎨 4. Student Engagement & Creativity
AI can help create interactive stories, role-plays, or inquiry prompts.
- Example: “Write a short mystery story where students must solve using maths clues.”
- Benefit: Sparks curiosity and creativity in ways that would normally take hours to design.
📂 5. Administrative Efficiency
AI can draft emails, reports, rubrics, or parent updates quickly.
- Example: “Draft a professional but positive email to parents about upcoming field trip details.”
- Benefit: Cuts admin time, leaving more energy for teaching.
🔎 6. Data Insights & Progress Tracking
AI can analyse student performance data (from assessments or online platforms) to spot trends and gaps.
- Example: “Summarise which maths topics my class struggles with most based on this assessment data.”
- Benefit: Helps teachers target interventions more precisely.
🎙️ 7. Language Support & Translation
AI tools can instantly translate parent communication or provide student scaffolds in different languages.
- Example: “Translate this classroom newsletter into Portuguese while keeping a warm, professional tone.”
- Benefit: Bridges home–school communication and supports EAL students.
🧠 8. Student Self-Reflection & Metacognition
Students can use AI to ask questions, summarise their own learning, or get study prompts.
- Example: “Explain fractions back to me in simple terms as if I’m 10 years old.”
- Benefit: Encourages ownership of learning and independent study skills.
📚 9. Professional Development & Idea Generation
Teachers can use AI as a thinking partner for pedagogy, classroom management, or new strategies.
- Example: “Give me three ways to teach growth mindset to Year 6 students.”
- Benefit: On-demand coaching for busy teachers.
🎥 10. Multimedia Creation
AI can generate images, diagrams, flashcards, or even video scripts to make abstract concepts concrete.
- Example: “Create a diagram showing the water cycle for Year 4.”
- Benefit: Brings lessons to life without expensive software or hours of design work.
📝 11. Rubric & Criteria Design
AI can quickly draft assessment rubrics aligned with learning objectives.
- Example: “Create a rubric for a Year 6 persuasive writing task with four levels of achievement.”
- Benefit: Saves time and ensures clarity for both teachers and students.
🤝 12. Conflict Resolution & PSHE Prompts
AI can suggest scripts, role-play ideas, or reflection questions for social-emotional learning.
- Example: “Give me 5 role-play scenarios to practice respectful disagreement.”
- Benefit: Supports pastoral care and behaviour education without reinventing the wheel.
🧪 13. Experiment & Project Design
Teachers can use AI to design hands-on experiments, STEAM projects, or inquiry questions.
- Example: “Suggest a safe, engaging science experiment to teach chemical reactions to 10-year-olds.”
- Benefit: Keeps lessons practical, fun, and aligned with learning goals.
🌍 14. Global Connections & Cultural Exposure
AI can simulate historical figures, global perspectives, or cultural contexts for richer learning.
- Example: “Role-play as Nelson Mandela answering student questions about forgiveness.”
- Benefit: Brings history and global citizenship to life.
🔄 15. Streamlining Revision & Retrieval Practice
AI can generate spaced-repetition questions, flashcards, or quick quizzes.
- Example: “Create 10 retrieval questions from this week’s geography lesson.”
- Benefit: Reinforces memory and makes revision more systematic.
👉 You can download the one-page AI Cheat Sheet for Teachers below, where I’ve pulled together my top 15 strategies:
