Seven out of ten teachers use AI at least once a week. The challenge is to integrate it systematically into teaching

From the pupils, the focus now shifts to the teachers: just a few days after the presentation of the research by INDIRE and the Festival of Educational Innovation, which looked at young people’s relationship with artificial intelligence, a new survey turns its attention to the other key player in the educational relationship: the teacher. These two perspectives, though different, converge on one point: AI is already a tangible presence in schools. The challenge now is to understand how to integrate it into teaching and learning processes in an informed, critical and safe manner.

This is the finding of “Teachers and Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities, Fears and the Need for Guidance”, a survey organised by Spaggiari, La Fabbrica Società Benefit and ANP – the National Association of Headteachers, carried out on a self-selected sample of 1,300 teachers from schools of all levels. The results were presented on 17 September at the Senate of the Republic, during a meeting organised on the initiative of Senator Giusy Versace to mark Spaggiari’s 100th anniversary. “We have always viewed the adoption of technology not as a passing fad, but by asking ourselves what value it brings to schools,” explains Nicola de Cesare, Chief Executive of Spaggiari. “The survey is specifically designed to listen to teachers’ needs so that we can shape the future of artificial intelligence in schools.”

Artificial intelligence has already become part of teachers’ working routines: 36 per cent use it several times a week and 22 per cent use it daily. When you add the 14 per cent who use it once a week, the total rises to 72 per cent. Only 6 per cent say they never use it. Its use is primarily practical: searching for information and insights (23 per cent), developing teaching activities (16 per cent), preparing assessment tests (16 per cent), drafting minutes, reports or emails (15 per cent), and designing the curriculum and lessons (12 per cent). Furthermore, the most easily accessible tools are the most widely used: 96 per cent use free features and 57 per cent use general-purpose conversational AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, whilst tools specifically designed for teaching account for only 11 per cent.

The widespread adoption of AI amongst teachers does not yet automatically translate into its use in the classroom. Thirty-four per cent of teachers say they do not use it directly with pupils. When it is used in the classroom, it is primarily employed to stimulate creativity through the generation of text and images (22 per cent) and to promote inclusion and personalisation (22 per cent). This is followed by its use as a ‘specialist tutor’ for explanations and in-depth analysis (11 per cent) and as a tool for joint reflection with pupils on issues such as ethics, bias, technical functioning and netiquette (11 per cent).

Nevertheless, its educational potential is recognised. 47 per cent of teachers cite time savings as the main benefit of AI, followed by greater personalisation (15 per cent), greater creativity (14 per cent) and greater engagement (10 per cent). Among the areas in which it is considered most useful, lesson planning (30 per cent) and the discussion and exploration of ideas (29 per cent) stand out. “The survey findings clearly show that artificial intelligence is already, to all intents and purposes, an integral part of the education system. It is no longer a question of debating its existence: what we can and must work on is the quality of its use,” comments Angela Mencarelli, Chief Executive of La Fabbrica Società Benefit. “Today, there is a gap between individual teachers’ adoption of AI and its integration into education: the development of shared teaching models is still an area to be explored. Training is therefore crucial: not technological training, but educational, methodological and critical training, capable of translating the potential of artificial intelligence into new opportunities for teaching and learning.”