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AI exposure report

Will AI replace Teaching Assistants, Special Education?

The core of your work stays human. For you, AI is mainly an amplifier.

Task exposure to today's AI

20/100

Low 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 Teaching Assistants, Special Education?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 20% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress. The parts that stay human include: Provide assistance to students with special needs.; Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.; Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips..

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
Observe students' performance, and record relevant data to assess progress. 47%
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms. 30%
Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.AI already used 17%
Carry out therapeutic regimens, such as behavior modification and personal development programs, under the supervision of special education instructors, psychologists, or speech-language pathologists. 15%
Provide assistance to students with special needs. 12%
Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips. 10%

+ 24 more tasks (48% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

  • Provide assistance to students with special needs.
  • Tutor and assist children individually or in small groups to help them master assignments and to reinforce learning concepts presented by teachers.
  • Supervise students in classrooms, halls, cafeterias, school yards, and gymnasiums, or on field trips.

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 three reading-levels of one week's worth of worksheets plus visual supports for your small group, fact-check each page yourself, and log prep 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 rubric and feedback sentence-starters for one assignment, analyse 10 anonymised work samples for the 3 most common errors, and write a one-page reteach plan.

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

Run two 20-minute mini-lessons teaching your students to question AI answers, then share the slides, prompts and class AI-use rules with 5 colleagues for feedback.
Take the free 11-question test