By Tasneem Ebrahim
Tasneem Ebrahim is a UK secondary school biology teacher based in Birmingham with over a decade of classroom experience. She holds an MSc in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oxford. In this reflective piece, she writes about how AI is reshaping education and the role of the teacher.
Fourteen years ago, I walked into my first biology classroom. Armed with PowerPoint slides and laminated diagrams of cell structures, I thought these implements would help explain mitosis clearly enough and my students would get it.
Some did. Many didn’t.
For years, I couldn’t explain why the same lesson that worked for one student left another completely lost. It was a failure of assumption that students learn in the same way, at the same pace, at the same time.
What changed for my students
When I first began using adaptive platforms and AI-driven tools, I watched something remarkable happen. Students who struggled with the topic of respiration could revisit concepts, receiving feedback and support. Many moved ahead, exploring complex ideas at their own pace.
For the first time, learning was not constrained by the limits of a single teacher managing thirty students.
Here is what fundamentally shifted.
My students no longer depend on me as their primary source of information. They can access explanations of DNA replication or photosynthesis instantly, often presented in multiple formats until something clicks.
What they need from me is direction and guidance on how to navigate, question, interpret, and apply what they encounter.
This has liberated my teaching in ways I never imagined.
How my teaching style evolved
Hours previously spent in routine tasks are now dedicated to designing inquiry-based labs, facilitating debates about genetic engineering or having one-on-one conversations with students who need encouragement. I’m teaching them how to evaluate scientific sources, how to think like biologists, and why understanding ecology matters for their future; skills no algorithm can instill.
I’ve also become a curator of technology. With countless apps and platforms available, I test which ones genuinely deepen understanding. I’m constantly learning about data privacy, algorithmic bias in health-related AI and responsible digital citizenship.
Throughout, I’m striving to model exactly what I want my students to do, which is to embrace lifelong learning.
There are broader concerns as well. Not all students have equal access to reliable technology, and without careful attention, these tools risk widening existing gaps rather than closing them. There is also a subtle danger in efficiency itself such as when processes become faster, it is easy to prioritise output over understanding.
I’ve watched students use AI to write perfectly adequate explanations of osmosis without truly understanding it. That’s shown me that my job isn’t just about content delivery but rather about creating experiences where understanding matters, curiosity is encouraged, and mistakes become learning opportunities.
Here’s my take
I’m genuinely thrilled about the possibilities ahead. Imagine my students using virtual reality to shrink down and travel through the human circulatory system or using augmented reality to examine virtual specimens they could never access otherwise. We’re moving toward project-based assessments where students solve real-world biological problems like designing solutions for antibiotic resistance or analysing local ecosystem health. Technology won’t replace biology teachers, but biology teachers who use technology effectively might replace those who don’t.
The future of my classroom
It is not a choice between traditional teaching and technology but rather it is about what amplifies the best that I can do for each student.
In the end, this is not about adopting new tools for the sake of innovation. It is about recognising that education has changed and choosing to evolve with it.
My students deserve nothing less.