Professional Development with AI

Performance reviews are a pain point for almost every teacher. You know you've done good work all year. But when it's time to write your evidence, your mind goes blank. What did you actually do in September? Which intervention made a difference? What data proves it?

Here's how AI helps. Throughout the year, keep a simple running list — bullet points in your phone's notes app, a voice memo, a quick line in a document. Nothing polished. Just facts:

"Introduced retrieval practice starters in Year 10 — mock results improved by 12%."

"Led staff training on adaptive teaching — 15 attendees, positive feedback."

"Redesigned KS3 curriculum map to align with new spec."

Then at review time, paste your bullet points into AI with this prompt:

"I'm a [role] at a [type of school]. Here are my achievements this year [paste bullet points]. Write professional performance review evidence for each one. Use the format: what I did, the impact it had, and how it links to the Teachers' Standards. Keep the tone confident but not arrogant."

In 3 minutes, your scattered notes become polished evidence statements that actually do justice to your work.

Going for a TLR, a Head of Department role, or a leadership position? The interview is often the biggest barrier — not because you lack the skills, but because articulating your vision under pressure is genuinely hard.

AI is an exceptional interview preparation partner. Here's how:

Generating likely questions: "I'm interviewing for a Head of English role at a secondary comprehensive school. Generate 15 likely interview questions, including questions about data, leadership, curriculum vision, and managing underperformance."

Drafting answers: "Here's an interview question: 'How would you raise attainment in KS4 English?' Draft a strong answer that references data-driven intervention, quality first teaching, and student engagement. Make it specific and evidence-based, not generic."

Practising the "tell me about a time" questions: "I need to answer: 'Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult situation with a colleague.' Here's what happened: [brief description]. Turn this into a structured answer using the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result)."

Preparing your presentation: Many leadership interviews include a presentation task. "I've been asked to present for 10 minutes on 'My vision for the English department over the next three years.' Create a slide-by-slide outline with key talking points."

Whether you're applying for jobs, going through threshold, or simply documenting your professional journey, a portfolio is powerful. But most teachers never build one because the time investment feels enormous.

AI compresses this dramatically. Here's what to include and how AI helps with each:

Professional statement — Who you are as a teacher, your philosophy, your approach. Prompt: "Write a 300-word professional statement for a [subject] teacher with [X years] experience. My teaching philosophy centres on [key beliefs]. My strengths include [list]. My career goal is [goal]."

Evidence summaries — For each key achievement, a concise paragraph. Use the performance review prompt from earlier.

CPD record — A structured list of all training you've completed. Prompt: "Organise this list of CPD activities into a professional development record. Include: date, activity, provider, key learning, and how I applied it in practice. [Paste your list]."

Lesson observation highlights — If you have observation feedback, AI can summarise the key strengths into a portfolio-ready format.

A complete portfolio that would take a full weekend to compile can be drafted in an evening with AI handling the writing.

Job applications in teaching follow a familiar pattern: letter of application, personal statement, and sometimes a supporting statement addressing the person specification point by point. AI excels at all of these.

The most effective approach is to paste the job description and person specification into AI alongside your experience. Then prompt:

"Here is a job description for a [role] at [school]. And here is my experience: [paste your bullet points or CV summary]. Write a letter of application that addresses the key requirements in the person specification. Use specific examples from my experience. Keep it to [word count]. Tone: professional, passionate, and specific — not generic."

The "not generic" instruction matters. Without it, AI produces bland letters that could be from anyone. With your specific experience as input, the letter is unmistakably yours.

One important note: Always, always edit the output. AI gives you a strong first draft, but the final version needs your voice, your personality, and your honest reflection. Applications that sound entirely AI-generated are increasingly easy for experienced leaders to spot — and they land in the reject pile.

AI in education is moving fast. New tools, new policies, new research — it can feel overwhelming. Here's a simple system for staying current without drowning:

Follow three sources: Pick three newsletters, blogs, or social media accounts that cover AI in education. Three is enough. More than that and you'll feel overwhelmed and stop reading all of them.

Monthly check-in: Once a month, spend 20 minutes asking AI: "What are the most significant developments in AI for education in the past month? Focus on UK schools." This keeps you informed without requiring daily reading.

Try one new thing per half-term: Don't try to implement everything at once. Pick one new AI technique or tool each half-term, try it, evaluate it, and decide whether to keep it. Sustainable change happens slowly.

Share with colleagues: The best way to cement your own learning is to share it. Run a 10-minute slot in a staff meeting. Write a one-page summary for your department. Be the person who makes AI accessible for your colleagues.