Teaching Delivery with AI
Original work: "Educators' guide to multimodal learning and Generative AI" — Tünde Varga-Atkins, Samuel Saunders, et al. (2024/25) — CC BY-NC 4.0
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
Last Updated: December 2025
Beyond creating content, Generative AI can be an active participant in the delivery of teaching, supporting more dynamic, responsive, and personalized learning experiences.
1. The AI as "Socratic Tutor"
Instead of simply providing answers, AI can be prompted to guide students through a line of questioning to deepen their clinical reasoning.
Nursing Application: Clinical Reasoning
In a seminar, students can engage with a chatbot (like Gemini 3 Pro or Claude Sonnet 4) that has been instructed not to give the answer, but to ask probing questions about a case.
Example Prompt for Educator to set up:
"Act as a senior practice supervisor. I am a student nurse. I am going to present a patient with worsening COPD. Do not tell me the correct interventions. Instead, ask me 3 probing questions about my assessment findings to help me decide on the priority action myself. Give me feedback on my answers."
2. Real-Time Interactions & Roleplay
GenAI's ability to simulate personas makes it powerful for "low-stakes" rehearsal of communication skills before patient contact.
Nursing Application: Taking a History
Students can use voice mode (on GPT-4o or Gemini Live) to "interview" a simulated patient.
Scenario: A patient who is reluctant to disclose their alcohol intake.
- Activity: Students take turns asking questions.
- Review: The class analyzes the transcript to discuss which questions built rapport versus which caused the "patient" to shut down.
3. Live Fact-Checking & critique
To build AI literacy, integrate the fallibility of AI into the teaching session.
Activity: The "Hallucination Hunt"
- Generate: Ask the AI to write a short explanation of a complex topic (e.g., "The pathophysiology of Sepsis").
- Verify: Ask students to strictly verify the output against a trusted source (e.g., The Royal Marsden Manual or NICE Guidelines).
- Correct: Have students highlight errors or vague statements.
NMC Proficiency 1.15: "demonstrate the ability to critically analyse and evaluate evidence..."
4. Explaining Concepts in Multiple Ways
If a student struggles with a concept (e.g., pharmacokinetics), GenAI can instantly generate analogies or simplify language.
Prompt Template:
"Explain the concept of [half-life] to a [Year 1 nursing student] using an analogy related to [making tea/filling a bath]."
5. Summary Table: AI Roles in Delivery
| Role | Function | Nursing Example |
|---|---|---|
| Possibility Engine | Generates options/ideas | Generating differential diagnoses for discussion |
| Socratic Opponent | Challenges assumptions | Debating the ethics of a DNACPR decision |
| Collaborator | Co-creates work | Drafting a health promotion leaflet together |
| Simulator | Acts as patient/relative | Simulating a difficult conversation with a relative |
Always remind students that while AI is a useful simulator, it is not a substitute for clinical supervisor judgment. Real patients are more complex and nuanced.