As part of the DfE-supported special edition of Impact on the safe and effective use of AI in education we’ll be holding a webinar panel discussion featuring authors from the issue. The issue demonstrates how AI tools are being used in schools and colleges and discusses the benefits, issues and uncertainties surrounding the rapid uptake of this technology by educators and students. It looks at the impact AI could have on supporting students with SEND, the workload crisis and the role of the teacher, as well as discussing training requirements, data protection and AI policies.
Speakers:
Helen Barker, Teacher Assessment Manager (Chair)
Helen has 15 years experience in the primary setting, teaching across both key stage 1 and 2. As with any teacher in a small primary school she had many responsibilities, including being a member of the senior leadership team, leading across the key stages and also leading various curriculum areas. Helen was part of the pilot cohort for Chartered Teacher status, which she gained in 2019. This transformative experience led Helen to join the Chartered College of Teaching in 2021, where she is the Teacher Assessment Manager within the Professional Learning and Accreditation team.
Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith EdD MA(Ed) MMus PGCE BA(Hons) FCCT FRSA FHEA
Named in 2024 as one of the Top 5 Visionary Women in Education, Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith is an independent consultant researcher who works closely with schools to support a deeper understanding of pedagogy and practice. She is a PhD supervisor and examiner, and co- author of the best selling book From EdTech to PedTech: Changing the way we think about digital technology. In 2024, Fiona was granted Freedom of the City of London.
Read Fiona’s article here: Whose values and beliefs are shaping the conversation?
Paul Mallaband
Paul is a Director at Penrose Education, a leading EdTech provider in Initial Teacher Education. A former secondary school science teacher, he has spent the past nine years working in education technology and now leads new product development for Penrose’s flagship platform, Mosaic. In this role, Paul focuses on the intersection of technology and learning, and is actively involved in shaping the conversation around the use of AI in education. He is currently spearheading Mosaic’s pilot of AI-driven tools to support reflective practice in pre-service teachers. As Mosaic’s Data Protection Officer, Paul also collaborates closely with technical experts to ensure data privacy and security—critical considerations in the implementation of AI systems. Paul works in close partnership with Initial Teacher Education providers, using their insights to guide product development and address both their aspirations and concerns regarding AI. He holds a Master’s in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a Master’s in Education and Leadership from the University of Manchester.
Read Paul and Robert’s article here: AI in teacher professional development: The unnecessary and absolutely necessary cognitive load of developing as a teacher
Hannah Owen
Hannah Owen has been a teacher and school leader for over 15 years in both London and Cambridge. She has been responsible for the quality of teaching and learning, developing context specific strategies for improving education, including designing curricula, implementing assessment policies and monitoring standards. She has taken a lead in creating school-wide professional development programmes, evaluating and monitoring their impact as well as creating opportunities for professional learning at all levels.
She believes that empowering teachers to become ‘natural experimenters’ is central to improving teaching and learning as it allows them to develop the skills for systematically and critically examining their ideas and experiences. Therefore, she is keen to encourage teachers to engage in action research and lesson study to find new solutions to issues of classroom practice and implement curriculum development. She also seeks to model this ‘critical mindset’ in her own practice, weighing up the benefits of alternative approaches and using evidence to think reflectively and reflexively about the choices she is making. Most recently, she has been looking at the use of GenAI in Lesson and Resource Planning, considering the different ways in which teachers need to interact with these new tools.
She is studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge where her research addresses the subject of teacher learning, investigating the experiences of those engaged in classroom practice. She is seeking to understand how through collective and collaborative learning, teachers can cultivate ‘practical wisdom’ as an embodied and situated practice and acquire the dispositions and habits of mind that enable them to become effective professionals.
Read Hannah’s article here: Using GenAI: What do teachers really need to know?
