As AI reshapes every aspect of education, it’s never been more important for new teachers to learn how to use it safely, critically and confidently from the very start of their careers. That belief was at the heart of our partnership with the University of Manchester’s Primary PGCE programme: a pioneering three-year research project exploring how trainee teachers could use generative AI technology, specifically Teachmate, to develop professional judgement, creativity and confidence in the classroom.
In the findings from the first-year report, the University of Manchester found that AI integration appeared to enhance professional judgement, creativity, responsibility and contextual awareness among trainee teachers – a powerful insight into how future educators can learn with AI, not just about it.
You can read the full Year 1 Report and its recommendations on The University of Manchester’s website here.
Exploring how trainee teachers learn with AI
To support this research over the next two years, Teachmate has donated free licences to the University of Manchester’s Primary PGCE programme, allowing trainee teachers and academic staff to explore the responsible use of AI throughout their training year. The independent project, led by Liz Birchinall and colleagues from the Manchester Institute of Education, examined how generative AI could be integrated into teacher education in a way that strengthened, not replaced, professional practice.
Trainees used Teachmate to support lesson preparation, classroom resource creation and professional reflection. Many also compared Teachmate’s curriculum-aware tools with more general AI platforms, providing a valuable understanding of how teachers adapt AI to meet real classroom needs.
What the findings revealed
The research identified five key themes that shaped how AI was used across the programme, with professional judgement emerging as central to them all.
- Context awareness: Trainees demonstrated greater attention to the context of the classes that they were teaching, i.e. they adapted AI resources to meet their pupils’ needs.
- Workload management: AI supported the “heavy lifting” of lesson preparation, giving teachers more time to focus on creative and pupil-facing tasks. Many trainees noted that it enabled them to produce resources they would never normally have time to create, from songs and lyrics to scripts for puppet shows and clues for classroom detective trails.
- Professional judgement: Far from diminishing teacher skill, AI use encouraged critical reflection and discernment, particularly in checking content accuracy and suitability.
- Fact-checking and subject knowledge: Teachmate’s curriculum-aligned design helped ensure more age-appropriate outputs than other more generalised AI platforms, though the report highlighted that strong subject knowledge remains key to effective AI use.
- Prompt engineering: Trainees quickly developed advanced prompting skills, recognising that the quality of AI output depends on clear, specific and pedagogically sound input.
As the report concluded, AI integration provided an opportunity to enhance, rather than erode, the professional capabilities of future teachers.
Strengthening teacher education through responsible AI
The project prompted meaningful change within the University’s Primary PGCE programme. Following early insights, the team introduced sessions on AI literacy and prompt engineering, helping trainees build the knowledge and confidence to use AI safely and responsibly. Mentors and headteachers involved in the research also developed new understanding of how AI could support teaching practice, leading to more informed professional discussions across partner schools.
While the University’s research was conducted independently, the project demonstrated the value of using purpose-built, education-specific platforms such as Teachmate. Designed to be fully curriculum-aligned and GDPR-compliant, Teachmate provided a safe environment for trainees to explore AI confidently. The report noted that its classroom-focused design supported age-appropriate, high-quality content creation. However, it also highlighted that the most effective outcomes came when trainee teachers used AI critically and responsibly – applying professional judgement and subject knowledge rather than developing over-reliance on AI-generated material.
Why this matters for the next generation of teachers
This research marks an important milestone for teacher education. As AI becomes embedded across all areas of teaching and learning, it’s essential that new teachers enter the profession equipped not only with subject knowledge, but with the digital literacy and ethical awareness to use AI effectively.
At Teachmate, we believe this learning should begin from day one of teacher training. That’s why, from January 2026, we’ll launch our University Partnerships Programme, offering free Teachmate licences to trainee teachers through participating universities from September 2026.
Our aim is to ensure every new teacher graduates with the confidence to:
- use AI safely and ethically
- understand bias and accuracy
- develop prompt engineering and fact-checking skills
- harness AI to enhance creativity, inclusion and classroom engagement
By learning with AI, rather than simply about it, future teachers can develop the professional judgement and adaptability they’ll need to thrive in modern classrooms.