Will AI replace Education Teachers, Postsecondary?

Some of your tasks will be automated. People who use AI will have the edge.

Task exposure to today's AI

45/100

Moderate exposure

This is the occupation's typical task mix. Your own score can be up to 30 points higher or lower depending on how you work: routine share, people contact, judgment and how much you already use AI.

Get your personal score

Will AI replace Education Teachers, Postsecondary?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 45% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. The parts that stay human include: Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as children's literature, learning and development, and reading instruction.; Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.; Supervise students' fieldwork, internship, and research work..

People who learn to use AI for the automatable parts keep the edge. The 3-phase plan below shows where to start.

Which tasks AI can take on

The largest tasks in this occupation, their share of the working week, and how much of each today's AI tools can do.

TaskAutomatable

Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. 80%

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.AI already used 62%

Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.AI already used 57%

Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as children's literature, learning and development, and reading instruction. 40%

Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. 38%

Supervise students' fieldwork, internship, and research work. 17%

+ 18 more tasks (44% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as children's literature, learning and development, and reading instruction.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Supervise students' fieldwork, internship, and research work.

AI tools to try

ChatGPT / Claude for lesson materialsAI quiz and feedback toolsPresentation and image generators

Related roles

A 3-phase AI learning plan

Phase 1

Materials and preparation

Lesson plans, tasks and differentiated materials with AI.
Quizzes and answer keys.
Check facts and age-appropriateness yourself.

Project

Use AI to rebuild one 3-week unit of your reading instruction course: syllabus section, 6 lecture outlines, differentiated readings and 2 quizzes with keys, then fact-check every item and log hours saved.

Phase 2

Feedback and assessment

Rubrics and feedback drafts with AI.
Spotting common mistakes across student work.
Rules for student AI use and academic honesty.

Project

Draft an analytic rubric with AI for your next paper assignment, use it to generate feedback drafts for 20 anonymised submissions, tally the 5 most common errors, and compare your editing time to last term.

Phase 3

Teaching with AI

Teach students to use AI critically.
Assignments that work with AI, not against it.
Share materials and practice with colleagues.

Project

Redesign one major assignment so students must critique AI-generated lesson plans, run it with a class, require an AI-use disclosure, and present the results and materials to your department.

Take the free 11-question test