At Globeducate, across more than 70 schools spanning 11 countries, from Barcelona to Toronto, Rome to Casablanca, thousands of teachers are grappling with the same question: how do we prepare students for an artificial intelligence-driven world when we’re still figuring it out ourselves?

For myself, as head of AI, this is a question I very much have to answer, while also being mindful of numerous other questions, too, such as how do you train teachers in AI when they’re already drowning in competing priorities?

And perhaps most pressing of all, given our context: how do you create an AI curriculum that works equally well for a primary teacher in Amsterdam and a secondary computing specialist in Chennai?

Training teachers on using AI

With this in mind, since joining the group in January I have worked with our chief education officer, Daniel Jones, to consider how we could do this best. What we realised was that trying to create a one-size-fits-all approach to AI training wasn’t going to work.

Of course, we also couldn’t create bespoke training for every teacher - it had to be a mix of approaches that allowed them to engage in a way that suited them and their workloads best.

To that end we have created an array of resources, each offering something different:

1. Video tutorials (5-15 minutes each)

These guide teachers on a raft of different aspects of AI, such as prompt writing and critically evaluating outputs from an AI, through to how use it for specific tasks such as lesson planning.

2. Interactive workshops (60-90 minutes)

These cover core concepts like prompt crafting and quality evaluation. I designed these workshops using a train-the-trainer model to ensure consistency while also allowing for local adaptation and immediate support.

3. Self-guided learning materials

These include templates, checklists and subject-specific examples. I developed a toolkit including self-assessment tasks, troubleshooting resources, FAQ documents, downloadable templates and prompts, examples comparing traditional versus AI-enhanced lesson plans and resources, plus sample lesson plans and resources that teachers can immediately adapt.

How it’s been received

We’ve already had 70 AI champions across our schools sign up to take part in the workshops hosted via Teams in June and July. This will cascade to approximately 4,500 teachers.

The champions will have flexibility in how they deliver training in their schools - either as a single CPD session at the beginning of term, two or three twilight sessions during staff meetings or as self-directed study for each teacher.

I’ll then visit schools in October and November to provide further support and gather feedback on implementation.

Sharing innovation

As well as this, we have also worked to ensure that innovation happening on the frontline among our teachers can be shared. We’ve launched podcasts and webinars where teachers can come and share their insights.

We’ve had sessions ranging from: a primary teacher in Rome using AI to help write the end-of-year performance, a geography teacher in Bilbao using AI as a teaching assistant while working with students who need extra support and a science teacher in Canada who designed an “AI checklist” for students.

I also share a weekly AI bulletin to staff across the organisation, essentially doing their research for them by reading about the latest developments in AI and distilling it into an easy-to-read weekly bulletin.

The wellbeing connection

Finally, while much has been made about AI’s impact in reducing staff workload, we are keen to discover if this is actually the case.

As such, working with our head of wellbeing, Rhiannon Phillips Bianco, we have issued a survey to discover the realities of teachers’ workloads, with questions like: how much time do you spend on planning beyond your allocated hours? How many hours per year go to administrative tasks? How often do you get a proper lunch break? Do you have quality time with family and friends?

The early insights have been sobering. Many teachers report spending significant additional hours on planning and resource creation each week. Administrative tasks consume dozens of hours per academic year that could be spent on teaching or personal wellbeing.

If AI can help teachers to reclaim even a few hours per week by streamlining lesson planning, automating routine communications or generating differentiated resources, the cumulative impact on wellbeing could be transformative.

We have plans to survey participants again in a year’s time to measure whether our AI initiatives have made a meaningful difference.

And this is key: successful use of AI isn’t about the technology - it’s about supporting teachers. If we can help colleagues to reclaim time for what matters most - effective teaching, personal wellbeing and meaningful relationships - then we’ll have achieved something truly transformative for education.

Richard Human is head of artificial intelligence at Globeducate

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