Good Morning!

This week on Thinking Deeply about AI for Schools, James Radburn and Neil Almond explore the fast-moving world of AI tutors.

It is one of those phrases that sounds simple until you start pulling at it. Are we talking about a pupil using ChatGPT for homework? A structured intelligent tutoring system? A curriculum-aligned platform? A tool with a human expert checking the responses? Or something else entirely?

The conversation around AI tutors is already full of big claims. Some argue that they could transform learning, close gaps, provide immediate feedback and make one-to-one support more scalable. Others worry about hallucinations, cheating, dependency, safeguarding, workload, motivation and the possibility that we are outsourcing too much of the human work of teaching.

In this episode, James and Neil try to sit in the difficult middle. They look at the promise without pretending the evidence is settled. They consider the risks without dismissing the possibility that, used carefully, these tools could support diagnosis, consolidation and feedback in powerful ways.

As ever, the question is not simply, “Is AI good or bad for schools?”

The better question is: what exactly are we asking it to do, under what conditions, and with what role left for the teacher?

Hope you enjoy!

AI tutoring can safely and effectively support students: An exploratory RCT in UK classrooms - arXiv, LearnLM Team, Google & Eedi. (2025).

AI tutoring outperforms in-class active learning: An RCT introducing a novel research-based design in an authentic educational setting. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 17458 - Kestin, G., Miller, K., Klales, A., Milbourne, T., & Ponti, G. (2025).

AI for Schools - Shadowy tech-bro forces

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Before I go, a genuine thank you to everyone who helped share last week’s episode. It might seem like a small thing, but it really does help the podcast reach more thoughtful teachers and leaders who care about the substance of teaching, learning and school life.

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Until next time, thanks for listening.