VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM


Some students also feel that, with AI, they do not need to learn ‘everything’. In art, where conceptual understanding is essential to fully grasp purpose, over-reliance on AI can diminish a student’s ability to generate truly personal responses in process-led exercises. And then there is the question of ownership. Depending on how AI is used, when does artwork truly become their own?


How do you tackle art ownership in the classroom?


As teachers, we must carefully balance considerations around AI. If AI is a key tool in a project, and the student is in control of it, who holds the editorial and creative rights to that work?


I invited students to explore this question through a project titled What Is Truth? Students created AI-generated portraits, AI-generated news articles about refugees, and AI-generated artworks responding to major pieces in the canon of Western art, such as Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa.


One student went further, imagining an entire country with a historic backstory, leadership profiles, images, and even maps. This was all driven by the possibilities of AI within the conceptual framework of production. I would recommend other teachers do something similar. It prompted deep discussions about authorship, ownership and creative output for all of us.


Have you changed how you teach to allow for AI?


AI is the future – it’s coming fast, and it is entering the art classroom at speed - but we should certainly not give up on teaching the fundamentals: observational drawing, composition, and colour theory.


Students must still keep sketchbooks, gallery trips must remain in the calendar, and hands-on crafts such as ceramics, metal work and weaving must continue.


At the same time, we encourage the use of AI in the classroom. We ask students to do what they do best: test the limits of something until they discover how to use it for their own benefit, and to enhance their creative processes. One task that has worked particularly well


in a creative project is asking students to use three different generative AI tools, ask the same question on each platform. They then review the responses, explore how they differ, and form their own opinions and responses.


How have you embraced AI?


I believe so, but there is still much more to learn as technology evolves.


Throughout my career, I have always said that teachers need to be one step ahead of their students. However, with AI, we need to embrace and be comfortable with the fact that this is an area where students are likely to be one step ahead of us - and to use this to our advantage. See it as a role reversal and a fantastic opportunity to open lines of communication. There are so many different tools available, each offering different benefits. I would encourage teachers to take the time to play


around with what is out there. Many platforms are free, while others are paid-for; some may suit your way of working, and some may not. The Pearson School Report 2025 revealed that, at the time of asking, 41% of art teachers had used AI tools in the previous fortnight. It’s all about exploring, and even asking your students!


Is it important for art teachers to become knowledgeable in the use of AI? As educators, I believe it is currently within our remit and responsibility to become, if not experts, then facilitators of AI in our specific subjects. To be informed is to ensure we can present, with prudence, how it can be used to support students as they learn and explore the parameters of this new world.


I would also argue that delegating mundane or routine tasks to AI - such as some of the administrative work I mentioned—can free up space in the classroom. This, in turn, allows the teaching of essential skills - traditional creative qualities, technical mastery, and conceptual understanding - to become even more central to student learning.


Fewer students are choosing a creative subject for their GCSEs, how important do you think art is in the curriculum?


Art, in its broadest sense, remains a hugely important subject choice, yet it has suffered under successive governments. It demands creative thinking, personal insight, ownership and self-development.


James Catterall’s profoundly insightful - but often under-valued - study in the mid-2000s highlighted just how important an ‘art-rich’ education is for any student. It demonstrates that, regardless of social background, race, school or location, participation in the arts helps students perform more strongly across other subjects and leaves a lasting impact into adulthood, enabling them to become active, socially engaged contributors to the world. Isn’t this ultimately what we want for our students?


January 2026 www.education-today.co.uk 31


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