‘They want You to Read Their Work’: Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives on the Use of AI for School Feedback

Abstract Providing feedback is time-consuming for teachers, but new Artificial Intelligence tools aim to reduce this burden and improve feedback quality. We asked teachers ( N = 12) to trial an AI tool for providing feedback on students’ work. In semi-structured interviews they reflected on the positive and negative implications of such tools. In focus groups, secondary school students ( N = 9) also shared their views on the use of AI feedback tools. Results showed that teachers believed AI tools could save time and reduce subjectivity in the feedback process. However, they also shared concerns about these tools’ potential impact on teacher-student relationships, their ability to meet individual students’ needs, and a potential deskilling of the teaching workforce. Many of these views were largely echoed by students in our sample. We conclude that AI tools for feedback are promising but need further development, and should include teachers’ and students’ voices as key to this work.