Reclaim Your Red Pen with AI Marking
There’s a pile of books somewhere calling your name. On the corner of your desk. In your bag. Maybe on the kitchen table.
It’s the marking pile.
And if you’re anything like me, it follows you around like a guilty conscience.
As a D&T teacher, I used to lug around sketchbooks, design folders, and portfolios the size of small briefcases. Each one bursting with ideas that deserved thoughtful feedback — not just ticks and targets. But the volume was bonkers. Even with rubrics and highlighters, I’d spend hours rewording the same advice:
“Develop your annotation to explain decisions” or “Link material choice to function.”
Sound familiar?
That’s where adopting AI marking changed everything.
The Real Problem: The Feedback Bottleneck
Every teacher wants to give feedback that helps students move forward, not just praise what they’ve done.
But the maths doesn’t add up:
30 students × 10 minutes per piece = 5 hours.
And that’s just one class!
After years of trial-and-error, colour coding, stickers, “marking parties” (that mostly turned into biscuit breaks), I found a system that finally worked:
The 4-Part Constructive Comment Framework for AI Marking.
Step 1: Capture Your Observations (Not Essays)
Before AI even enters the picture, start with what you already do well — noticing.
I keep a simple spreadsheet with one row per student.
For a D&T project, my notes might look like this:
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Name: Amelia
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Notes: Excellent model-making precision. Struggled with time management during final assembly. Needs to revisit her design brief wording for clarity.
Ten seconds. No overthinking. Just small, evidence-based snippets.
For clarity, here’s a universal English example too:
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Name: Joshua
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Notes: Used vivid adjectives (‘vast, shimmering ocean’), but forgot paragraphing. Rushes handwriting when excited.*
This keeps your feedback specific, grounded, and ready to use when report time hits.
Step 2: Apply the 4-Part Feedback Framework
Once your notes are ready, feed them through this simple four-part lens:
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Achievement: What went well.
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Evidence: A short example to prove it.
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Next Step: A single, specific target to work on.
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Strategy: A short tip or idea for how to improve it next time.
Step 3: Let AI Be Your Writing Assistant, Not Your Replacement
Here’s where the time-saving magic happens.
Copy your quick notes into your AI tool and prompt it to write student-facing feedback using the 4-Part Framework.
Example output for Joshua (English):
“You’ve shown a real flair for descriptive writing this term, especially when you opened your story with ‘vast, shimmering ocean’ — it painted a vivid image for the reader. Your next step is to use paragraphs to separate your ideas clearly. Try planning your stories in three sections — beginning, middle and end — before you start writing.”
Example output for Amelia (D&T):
“Your model shows brilliant attention to detail and precision in the final finish — great work. To make even more progress, focus on managing your time during the build so you don’t rush the final assembly. Next time, try sketching a quick timeline before you start to help you plan each stage.”
Now instead of spending hours writing, you’re refining (not reinventing) your comments.
Step 4: Review, Personalise, and Save Your Evenings
AI doesn’t know your students like you do.
But it can handle the wordsmithing while you focus on what matters; accuracy, empathy, and encouragement.
It’s not about cutting corners. It’s about cutting clutter.
The result?
Feedback that’s clear, kind, and constructive, and ready in minutes, not hours.
Step 5: How to Use AI Safely with Student Data
This step matters just as much as the time you’ll save.
Under DfE’s 2024 guidance on Using AI in Education Settings and UK GDPR, schools must ensure any data shared with AI tools is lawful, minimal, and secure.
Here’s how to stay compliant — and confident:
✅ Never enter identifiable information.
Don’t include full names, grades, initials, or any reference that could identify a student or colleague. Use anonymous labels like Student A, Year 8 writer, or pupil showing improvement in practical work.
✅ Keep all data on secure systems.
Draft your notes in your school’s cloud storage (e.g. OneDrive, Google Workspace for Education). Export anonymised text only when working with AI.
✅ Use professional or approved tools.
If your school has adopted a GDPR-compliant AI platform (such as Microsoft Copilot for Education or Google’s Gemini for Education), use that. If not, use open tools like ChatGPT or Claude only with anonymised data — no uploads, no photos of student work, and no copy-pasted reports.
✅ Turn off chat history or memory.
Always disable any “memory” or “chat history” function before inputting anonymised notes. This prevents the system from storing or reusing your inputs in future sessions — a key safeguard under data minimisation principles.
✅ Retain professional judgement.
AI is a writing assistant, not a decision-maker. You remain responsible for all final feedback and its tone.
✅ Keep a record of your process.
If your school requests evidence of responsible use, you can show your anonymised workflow and prompt structure.
By following these steps, you’ll stay firmly within both DfE and GDPR expectations while still benefiting from the power of AI-assisted feedback.
Ready to Try It?
👀 Coming Soon for Subscribers:
On Monday, I’ll share in my newsletter the exact AI prompt I use to generate 4-part feedback in under a minute. Get on the email list here.
💡 For PPA Buddy Members:
You’ll get instant access to my editable spreadsheet and AI master prompt — the exact tools I use every week to track, write, and review student feedback efficiently.