According to the recently released Teacher Confidence Report by education publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), there is a growing number of teachers planning to incorporate generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT into their classrooms by the end of the upcoming school year. However, they require more assistance in effectively implementing these tools. The report is part of a series of national teacher surveys conducted in May and June. Francie Alexander, the senior vice president of research at HMH, stated that due to the disruptions caused by recent events, transformation has been accelerated, comparing the potential impact of AI tools to the industrial revolution. The study found that while educators were aware of AI, the majority had not yet integrated it into their classrooms. Only 1 in 10 teachers reported using AI during the past school year, with less than 6 in 10 of those surveyed finding the tools helpful. The report, based on a representative sample of 1, 000 K-12 teachers and over 200 administrators, is the first of three to be released this fall. These findings align with other assessments of artificial intelligence in education, indicating that many teachers are unprepared for the technology they see as inevitable in the classroom.

While AI-based testing and logistics programs have been used in districts for years, the release of free AI tools like ChatGPT-3 and DALL-EE last school year led to an increase in teachers and students experimenting with the technology. However, the majority of teachers still lack clarity on how to effectively and safely utilize AI tools. The HMH survey revealed that teachers believe AI holds promise in developing worksheets, lesson plans, and writing prompts. The patchwork nature of policies surrounding AI usage in schools, concerns about ethics, data privacy, and security issues are cited as reasons why 90 percent of teachers have not yet adopted AI. This year's survey marks the first time overall educator confidence has risen since 2020, with 42 percent of educators reporting at least some positive sentiment towards their profession. While this is a 2 percentage point increase from the previous school year, it should be noted that confidence levels remain below pre-pandemic levels. In the nine years the survey has been conducted, there has never been a majority of educators expressing confidence in the profession. The survey will release two more reports on teacher well-being and student mental health later this fall.