Will AI replace Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary?

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

Task exposure to today's AI

48/100

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 Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 48% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts. The parts that stay human include: Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.; Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.; Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues..

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, or handouts. 80%

Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.AI already used 68%

Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as family behavior, child and adolescent mental health, or social intervention evaluation. 65%

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.AI already used 60%

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

Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. 15%

+ 18 more tasks (51% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.

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 build a full 3-week unit on child and adolescent mental health — lectures, discussion prompts, two case studies and a 20-item quiz with answer key — then fact-check every citation 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 AI-assisted rubric for one social intervention evaluation paper, use it on 15 de-identified submissions to flag the 5 most common errors, and compare your grading time against 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 assignment so students must critique AI-generated practice recommendations against peer-reviewed literature, publish your AI-use policy, and run a 60-minute workshop sharing it with 5 colleagues.

Take the free 11-question test