黑料网911

Skip to content

Reports Part of series: Researching additional support needs/special educational needs & disabilities: 黑料网911 Small Grants Fund research reports

Beyond correct answers

Generative AI, SEND & meaningful participation in secondary mathematics

This report examines how generative artificial intelligence (AI) is used as a possible form of assistive technology by students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in secondary mathematics. Drawing on a small-scale practitioner inquiry involving two students with SEND, the study analysed when AI use supported understanding and when AI-supported interaction broke down.

Key findings include:

  • AI supported learning when it was used to clarify specific points of uncertainty, but hindered learning when explanations were too dense, too fast paced or misaligned with prior knowledge.
  • Breakdowns in understanding were not usually resolved by AI alone; they required teacher mediation, particularly to reconnect explanations to familiar methods and carry important ideas across a sequence of work.

Implications for policy and practice include:

  • AI should not be treated as a substitute tutor, but as part of an interaction between student, teacher and technology.

  • Teachers should explicitly teach students how to use AI, and schools should prioritise supported access and teacher development.

  • Schools should ensure that students with SEND have supported access to AI tools, rather than being excluded from them because of concerns about misuse or risk. 
  • Future AI design should pay closer attention to enabling step-by-step interaction, addressing specific points of difficulty and supporting active engagement over time.

Authors

Profile picture of Alastair Amos
Alastair Amos, Mr

Teacher at Leventhorpe School

Alastair is a secondary mathematics teacher and researcher with a background in investment banking. He recently completed an MEd in Mathematics Education at the University of Cambridge, where his award-winning dissertation explored how students...

Profile picture of Steven Watson
Steven Watson, Dr

Associate Professor at University of Cambridge

Dr Steven Watson is an Associate Professor in Transdisciplinary Studies at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and a Fellow of Wolfson College. His research spans sociology, philosophy and education, with a particular focus on...