How Can AI Support Feedback in Further Education Without Compromising Professional Judgement?

In our recent TeacherMatic webinar, ‘AI in Further Education: Feedback, Adoption and Sector Practice,’ this question sat at the centre of our discussion, as Feedback is not a simple task for educators.

We covered insights from across the sector to explore the realities of feedback workload, the concept of ‘hybrid marking’ and how FE institutions are adopting AI responsibly, including a demonstration of the new Advanced Feedback generator features.

Why ‘Hybrid Marking’ Matters for Educators

Not only does effective feedback have a significant impact on student progress, but consistently delivering high-quality feedback is becoming increasingly difficult for educators because of the cognitive and time ‘cost.’

In fact, 76% of education staff report high levels of stress and 40% of teachers intend to exit the profession by 2028.

The pressure and cost of providing quality feedback is a key contributing factor to a teacher’s everyday stress level because this includes:

Deciphering: Interpreting all student assignments and submissions across formats and levels.
Crafting tone: Balancing how to challenge learners with clarity and motivation.
Identifying: Spotting misconceptions and individual learning gaps.
Tracking: Recording evidence for accountability and impact.

Many teachers are responsible for large cohorts of learners, complex assessment criteria and demanding marking cycles. In some cases, a single marking cycle can take hundreds of hours to complete.

As Esam Baboukhan explained during the session:

‘Feedback is professional judgment. It’s about standards. It’s about trust.’

This is where the concept of ‘hybrid marking’ becomes essential for supporting educators with these challenges.

It is important to emphasise that ‘hybrid marking’ is not automated marking. Instead, it is a structured approach in which AI helps generate the first draft of feedback, identify potential strengths and highlight possible misconceptions. Then, educators review, refine, and evaluate the feedback before sharing it with the learner.

‘Hybrid marking’ means AI drafts. Educators decide.’

The result is a human-in-the-loop process in which professional human judgment remains central.

Faster Feedback with the Advanced Feedback Generator

During the webinar, we showcased the enhancements the TeacherMatic Development Team has been working on behind the scenes to improve the Advanced Feedback generator.

These improvements mean educators can provide faster, more detailed feedback, such as:

Bulk uploading learner submissions so that educators can generate feedback for multiple assignment briefs and submissions in one upload.
Structured feedback drafts aligned with specific marking criteria.
Inline annotations within student work to highlight strengths and misconceptions.
Clear visual differentiation between AI-generated comments and teacher comments.
Editable feedback drafts that educators can refine before sharing with their learners.

These features allow educators to maintain control over the feedback they’re giving while significantly reducing the time required to produce the first draft of the feedback process.

One of the most important improvements is inline annotation:

AI-generated comments appear directly within the learner’s work so that educators can review, amend and add their own feedback alongside the AI suggestions.
Different colours can be used to distinguish between AI-generated guidance and teacher comments clearly.

This creates a true ‘hybrid marking’ feedback process and aligns with the ‘80-20 principle’ that Esam outlined during the webinar:

‘Let the AI accelerate all your work it drafts, and then, the 20% is where you go and check accuracy and alignment. You evaluate, you refine, you amend and that’s where the context lives. That’s where the empathy lives. That’s where standards live.’

‘The authority remains entirely with you, the professional, and this is what we mean by the human in the loop design. Because this is not about productivity, this is about relief, it’s about giving you the space and time.’

Supporting AI Adoption in FE through Culture and CPD

While AI and technology provide the tools, the successful adoption of how to implement them depends on the educators who will use them daily, such as the Advanced Feedback generator. This is where culture and leadership are crucial.

Delta Muntean, Digital Manager at Harlow College, shared how their institution introduced TeacherMatic through a structured digital strategy that focused on staff engagement and gradual adoption.

Harlow College has developed a strong digital culture over several years:

One-to-one devices, such as iPads, were encouraged for use by FE staff and learners.
The TeacherMatic platform was introduced through ongoing CPD sessions, with practical demonstrations delivered during staff training days.
Actively using one generator at a time that solved a real problem in their teaching practice, instead of being overwhelmed by trying multiple tools.
Experimenting, sharing and advocating AI experiences with colleagues.

Digital champions and internal communities of practice helped spread knowledge across the college, which Delta touches on with their informal ‘Magpie sessions,’ demonstrating how AI-powered tools are used in the classroom:

‘When we’re doing lesson observations, and we see teachers using TeacherMatic, then we have those conversations with them to congratulate them, praise them, but also give them recognition to say, ” Look, we really like what you’re using, how did you do that?” They will explain, and then they will be quite open to support.’

Importantly, the approach focused on recognition and encouragement rather than pressure, resulting in Harlow College’s culture, where adoption has happened naturally through peer learning and collaboration.

As Esam explained:

‘The adoption will grow when three things become much clearer: Institutional policy, awarding body guidance and robust governance frameworks. So, when clarity increases, confidence increases.’

Sector Practice Insights From the Jisc AI Assessment Pilot

We continued to explore insights from the Jisc AI Assessment Pilot Programme with Chris Potter, Digital Learning and Innovation Coordinator at Grŵp Colegau NPTC Group of Colleges.

Chris shared how Grŵp Colegau NPTC Group of Colleges has been exploring AI-supported assessment as part of a year-long pilot programme that began with staff training focused on responsible AI use, including discussions around ethics, institutional policy and learner use of AI tools.

Some of the early insights from the Jisc pilot programme include:

Educators reported significant time-saving potential when using TeacherMatic to support marking.
Most staff found the tools easy to use, particularly for generating structured-feedback drafts.
Staff highlighted the need for more hands-on training to build confidence in using AI tools.

Feedback from participating colleges is being shared with TeacherMatic and Jisc to refine how AI tools support assessment practices across the sector.

These findings reinforce a key discussion topic: Responsible AI adoption in education requires clear policy, professional development and open conversations about how technology should be used to support educators.

Watch the Full Webinar

If you would like to explore these discussion points in more depth, you can watch the full webinar recording where our speakers share practical examples, demonstrations and sector insights.