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Lisa, I found this piece very relevant and practical because it focuses on how the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum is being put into practice across the whole school. I agree with the point that it is important to evaluate not just what we teach, but how we teach it and how we assess pupils’ learning. This is essential if we want children to develop a deeper understanding of maths and stronger problem-solving skills. I also like the emphasis on using assessment data and digital tools such as CoPilot to guide planning, as this can help teachers make informed decisions and improve outcomes for all pupils.
Our school self evaluation focus is Oral language with a particular focus on questioning. For this assignment, I have chosen to look at the oral language development of the children in my class, and in particular how they ask and answer questions. As a whole school, we had observed that a cohort of our pupils struggled with asking and answering higher order questions and as a whole school, we have tried to equip them with the skills to firstly ask higher order questions and, subsequently, develop their ability to answer these type of questions to the best of their ability.
To assess my teaching in this area, I’ll look back at the lessons and resources I have created as part of this module using Teach and Create and also Canva agent. I will check these lessons and resources to see if I have included opportunities and guidance for the pupils to develop their oral language skills. Including key questions or guiding questions in both Canva and Teach and Create easily allows for these opportunities.
Looking ahead, I plan to introduce the Co Pilot tools bit by bit into my everyday teaching. plan to use Microsoft Teach when preparing new topics, and Learning Accelerators to support literacy and, in particular, oral language development. These tools can help pupils build confidence in speaking, listening and sharing ideas.Lisa, as I am also a 5th class teacher, I was immediately drawn to your post on 5th class maths and fractions. We know that it can prove a very tricky topic for many pupils at this stage of the learning. I also used the Canva agent to create a resource on improper fractions and mixed numbers. I wanted the display to show to relationship between both.
Similar to you, I found the first draft of the resource to be not that mathematically correct with some incorrect descriptions for key terms included. Some of the language included also needed simplifying. Upon two stages of prompts and refining, I was happy with the finish resource.
This module and course overall has really highlighted to me the importance of ensuring that we as teachers rigorously check the output from AI generated content, as not only do we need to ensure that the content generated is age appropriate and ability appropriate but also that it is actually correct.
Canva and Adobe Express Copilot agents can make SSE much easier by helping teachers create lessons, surveys, newsletters and displays in minutes. They can turn school data into clear visuals, help gather feedback from pupils, parents and staff, and showcase progress over time. For the whole school, they save time, support reflection, and make sharing evidence of improvement much more straightforward.
For this assignment, I used the Canva agent on Co-Pilot to create a teaching resource for my 5th class on the topic of Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers. I asked the agent to include key terminology in bold text and to include two key questions to guide further learning/discussion. I needed to link my own personal Canva account to Co Pilot at the outset so that took a few minutes.
The Canva agent then produced four options for me to explore. I quickly determined that all four options were very wordy. I asked the agent to refine option using more focused prompts. These included using only one key term and using half the page for improper fraction and other half for mixed numbers, as I felt the original options were more confusing that helpful. The refined option produced was relevant and appropriate to an average ability 5th class pupil.
Upon participation in this module, I see agents I see as useful tools for lesson preparation, helping to streamline workload and inspire new ideas. However, teachers remain central to the process, using their expertise to evaluate information, make informed decisions, and tailor materials and resources to the needs of their pupils.Marguerite highlights many of the practical benefits of M365 Copilot in supporting inclusive teaching. One of its main strengths for me is its ability to quickly adapt and differentiate resources which helps ensure that all pupils can access learning at a level appropriate to their needs. Copilot is a powerful tool for any teacher which allows them more time to focus on pupils learning. In particular, the use of learning accelerators can greatly reduce the barriers to learning for some children while also providing the teacher with up to date formative assessment data for the teacher to work with going forward. A win win situation.
The accessibility tools and learning accelerators in M365 CoPilot that I have explored as part of this module include Immersive reader and Reading Progress and Reading Coach. While I was somewhat familiar with Immersive Reader, I was not familiar Reading Coach. By utilising these learning accelerators from the beginning, you are reducing the barriers to learning to not alone the children who may experience difficulty in their reading but you are also ensuring that the different learning styles of other children in the class are being met.
From my experience of using Immersive Reader in the mainstream classroom with a child with dyslexia, I have found it to be very beneficial but this module has highlighted to me that I have not been using it to its potential. I have adapted text and background colour using Immersive Reader and adjusted spacing etc but I wasn’t aware of the visual dictionary or on the fly translation.
The use of Learning accelerators would greatly increase pupil engagement in the mainstream classroom. M365 Copilot has the ability to create interactive activities and resources that appeal to the interests of the children and by incorporating the use of some of the learning accelerators outlined in this module, I am certain pupil engagement will be improved.
In relation to SSE, you could use Reading Coach to identify pupils facing literacy or accessibility barriers and use the data to guide targeted interventions very simply and effectively.
I found myself nodding in agreement while reading Cormac’s comments about not knowing how CoPilot could hep with SSE. And I must admit, I did the exact same thing, I asked Co Pilot for three suggestions based on what my schools current focus is for SSE. I have to agree with your comment Helen regarding Co PIlot having the ability to streamline school administration which in turn drives whole school improvement.
Class Level & Topic: 5<sup>th</sup> Class/SPHE/Farm Safety
The overall quality of the AI Output: I found the overall output of the AI output to be quite effective and would be accessible by the average ability child in my class. There were aspects of the lesson that would have proven too tricky for the lesser able child and too easy for the high achieving child. Having experimented with Teach on Co Pilot over the duration of the course and reading other participants reflections, it is becoming increasingly obvious to me that the quality of the output very much depends on the quality of the input. And that is where the autonomy of the teacher really has to come to the fore. We know our class best. We need to provide AI with the prompts that will generate the outputs that best suit our class.
The level of adjustment required for use with learners: As outlined above, the lesson plan generated by Teach would be suitable towards the average ability child in my class. I do feel though that I would be adjusted it both up and down: i.e making some of the content more accessible to less able children and more detailed for the higher ability pupils. To do this, one prompt into the re generate section of Teach and I was happy with the output.
One specific adjustment you would make: Reading through the lesson plan, I quickly realised that some of the lesson activities were not ‘active’ enough for my class. I prompted Co Pilot to adjust two of the activities to include more active methodologies and was happy with the amended output.
How Copilot Teach could be used in School Self-Evaluation (SSE) at your school: Currently, our focus of SSE at school is towards improving Oral Language skills of our pupils. Co Pilot could be used effectively in this regard by creating age appropriate debate topics, producing interview questions for pair or group work, creating quizzes and games that encourage verbal interaction. Co Pilot could be used to generate rubrics to assess children’s oral language skills both at the beginning and end of a certain timeframe. I can envisage Co Pilot being very effective in helping our SSE efforts at school.
Cormac, I really like your point that AI can act as an “enthusiastic child” that still needs teacher guidance. Our experience as teachers shows how Copilot can provide a valuable starting point, while professional teacher judgement is needed to adapt materials for specific learners. One practical suggestion might be to ask Copilot to generate resources at three different levels of difficulty from the outset. This could support differentiation and reduce editing time further.
Your comment about pupils preparing questions for Copilot is also interesting. It raises a reflective question: how can we explicitly teach pupils to write effective prompts so that they use AI to deepen their thinking rather than simply seek answers? Developing these skills could help pupils become more independent, critical users of AI.
I used AI to create some questions based on chapter 1 of Under The Hawthorn Tree. I differentiated the questions for a particular pupil in my class who has dyslexia and a visual impairment.
Using AI to create lower-order comprehension questions for Under the Hawthorn Tree was a positive experience. It quickly generated clear, age-appropriate questions that focused on key information from Chapter 1. This saved planning time and allowed me to spend more time considering how to adapt the resource for a pupil with a visual impairment and dyslexia. AI can support teaching by helping teachers create differentiated materials, generate questions at different levels of difficulty, and provide ideas for accessible learning activities.
One limitation is that AI does not know my pupils personally and may not always produce questions that perfectly match their individual needs or the exact focus of a lesson. Therefore, teacher judgement remains essential when reviewing and adapting AI-generated resources. I teach in a rural school and often find that some of my lessons have to be adapted to reflect this.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I will use AI as a planning aid rather than a replacement for learning activities. Pupils will still be expected to read, discuss, analyse, and answer questions independently, with AI supporting my preparation rather than completing the learning process for them.
