Supporting Teachers in AI: Results of Austrian Federal Publishing House Survey

2023-11-28 08:03:02

The survey shows how important it is for teachers to receive more support in the field of AI. We live in a rapidly changing educational landscape in which teachers are increasingly confronted with the challenges of technological developments. It is important to provide them with more advice and further training opportunities

Maximilian Schulyok, managing director of the öbv

Vienna (OTS) – A survey by the öbv (Austrian Federal Publishing House) among 334 teachers shows: Many teachers are actively dealing with artificial intelligence, but the majority lack advice and further training.

Vienna, November 28, 2023 – Artificial intelligence has been part of our lives for a long time, but with the launch of ChatGPT a year ago it was suddenly visibly accessible to everyone – this has also led to changes at school. But how do teachers deal with artificial intelligence in home classrooms? The öbv wanted to know this in more detail and conducted a survey among teachers in the fall. The results show a mixed picture: 44.3% of teachers stated that they had already used artificial intelligence in everyday school life, while 55.7% had never (consciously) used it.

Call for clear rules and offers

Although almost half of those surveyed have not yet used AI in the classroom, 59.9% of educators surveyed still consider AI in the classroom to be helpful in supporting students’ learning processes. However, the survey also shows that teachers want opportunities to become proficient in using AI (72.8%). In addition, 70.7% are of the opinion that young people should learn how to use AI at school. More than half (60.8%) are in favor of clear rules for the use of AI in schools and 10.8% are in favor of banning artificial intelligence in schools.

Different areas of application

The areas of application of artificial intelligence in school environments are very broad. Of the teachers who stated that they had already used AI in everyday school life, 56.8% used it to provide ideas for (lesson) preparation. 54.1% also use the technology to create worksheets. Almost half (49.3%) use AI directly in lessons with students. A good third (33.8%) use AI to create individual material for different learning and language levels. The most frequently used method is ChatGPT (97.3%), followed by DeepL with 38.5% and Dall-E with 10.8%.

“The survey shows how important it is that teachers receive more support in the field of AI. We live in a rapidly changing educational landscape in which teachers are increasingly confronted with the challenges of technological developments. It is important to provide them with increased advice and support “To provide further training opportunities,” emphasizes Maximilian Schulyok, managing director of the öbv.

Quotes from teachers from the survey:

“AI will come, AI cannot be stopped – it is important to use it correctly.”

“The fact is that AI will determine all of our everyday lives, so schools shouldn’t close their minds to it!”

“I think that teachers need a lot more knowledge and awareness of AI in order to be able to train and support students in dealing with it.”

“AI should be used as a tool, but it cannot replace the thinking and learning process. The current danger is that students no longer think for themselves and leave the answers to the AI. If it is clear that AI only serves as a “tool”, it can be very useful – just like the Internet. But rules are needed.”

“Its use in elementary school and secondary school level 1 should be prohibited, except for learning how to use AI or how to use it positively.”

334 teachers from all over Austria took part in the survey. 27.5% of those surveyed teach at general secondary schools (AHS), 24.3% at middle schools and 23.7% at vocational secondary schools (BHS), the rest are divided into other types of schools.

You can find the survey and relevant images here for download.