AI May Help Solve the Teacher Shortage Crisis in UK and Europe

A company called 21st Century Digital Teaching (21C) is tackling the ongoing teacher shortage crisis in the UK and Europe. They are doing this by changing how students learn math and other important subjects.

To make this happen, 21C made a digital teaching app and platform for schools. They claim this app cuts down on the number of teachers needed by turning them into avatars. This means lessons can still happen even when there are not enough teachers.

The creators said that this app also offers a new way for students to do homework. It’s more engaging and allows teachers to keep track of how well students are doing using smart analytics tools on the platform, according to Euronews.

61 percent of UK teachers feel their work is unmanageable

Schools across Europe are struggling to find teachers, according to a recent report from Tes Schools Wellbeing. It has been found that 74 percent of school staff surveyed considered leaving education entirely in the past year.

Additionally, 61 percent of UK teachers feel overwhelmed by their workload. Almost half of the school staff (47 percent) reported lacking essential resources for their work.

Alan Judd, chairman and chief executive of the company, discussed the issue with Euronews. He pointed out the scarcity of qualified teachers, especially experienced math instructors, due to the rapid growth of school populations and retirements.

“They’re moving, they’re going to different places. So to have one-to-one teaching, that’s really behind the 21st Century,” said Alan.

Shorter lessons for efficient retention by students

The AI platform by 21C transforms lessons from real math teachers into short, easy-to-digest segments. Each segment lasts four to five minutes, aiming to match the shorter attention spans of students.

Martin Hoszowski, the company’s chief operating officer, explained that teenagers’ attention spans are decreasing. Therefore, they condensed lessons into shorter formats to keep students engaged.

He mentioned the challenge of compressing lessons into brief segments while ensuring they remain comprehensible and engaging for teenagers, as reported by Euronews.

Given the complex investment and regulatory environment in Europe, many UK and European businesses, both new and established, are considering relocating to the US.

While the primary reasons include access to greater capital, liquidity, and a broader investor base, differences in risk tolerance might also play a role in this trend, according to Euronews.

Judd mentioned the company’s plans to expand into the US market, noting the receptiveness of venture capitalists to pre-revenue ventures there.

“We intend to go into the US market, probably in 2025,” Judd said. “We’ll take about six to nine months to prepare the curriculum based upon the platform we have, which is versatile and can actually accommodate other languages and other systems.”