Guidance and support for the use of AI in sport and PE
20 February 2024
Kate Thompson, Jon Varey and Mark Johnson, Physical Education and Sport Subject Advisors
The rapid and ongoing advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools bring both benefits and challenges to education and assessment. In this blog, we highlight the guidance available for managing AI use in our sport and PE qualifications and how to deal with misuse in assessments.
What is AI?
AI tools generate text or images in response to user prompts and questions. The responses of AI tools are based upon the data sets upon which they have been trained. ChatGPT is the best-known example of an AI chatbot, but many other chatbots and tools are available.
Where students are required to produce written work based on their interpretation of the syllabus and its application to the coursework, it is possible they will have conducted research using the internet. Centres need to bear in mind that platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, being the main ones, could have been used to help complete the piece of work.
Appropriate use of AI
Whether the use of AI by students is appropriate for a given task will depend on the marking criteria and nature of the task.
Generating ideas for parts of the coursework aspects, including fitness testing, can be supported by AI. AI tools can provide great ideas and develop concepts. For example, a student could use ChatGPT to provide ideas for designing fitness tests and then to interpret the data they produce.
AI tools could also be used to identify similar ideas or types of projects. This may speed up the research process. However, it’s also important that this stage is not solely driven by using AI tools.
Inappropriate use of AI
Like plagiarism, AI can be used by students to create work which they then try to pass off as their own work. Where a student has used AI to complete all or some of their work, they are not demonstrating their own knowledge, understanding and application of skills. This may prevent the candidate from presenting their own authentic evidence.
Examples of AI misuse include using or modifying AI responses without acknowledgement, disguising the use of AI, or using it for substantial sections of work. You can support your students by teaching them about appropriate use of AI in sport and PE, demonstrating how to reference AI correctly where its use is appropriate, and having clear policies for AI use within your department.
What to do when candidates misuse AI in assessments
Teachers must not accept work which is not the student’s own. Ultimately the Head of Centre has the responsibility for ensuring that students’ work is authentic.
If you suspect AI misuse and the student has not signed the declaration of authentication, your centre doesn’t need to report the malpractice to OCR. You can resolve the matter prior to the signing of the declarations.
If AI misuse is suspected after formal submission and signing of the authentication sheet, AI concerns within candidate work should be reported with a JCQ M1 form, as outlined in the JCQ AI guidance, available on the Malpractice section of the JCQ website. Please email your completed forms to OCR at malpractice@ocr.org.uk.
Further support
Please refer to the JCQ AI use in assessments: Protecting the integrity of assessment document for further information on managing the use of AI within your assessments.
We are also producing a range of support resources, included recorded webinars, on our AI support page.
Stay connected
Share your thoughts and comments below. If you have any questions, you can email us at support@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_PhysEd. You can also sign up to subject updates to receive information about resources and support.
About the authors
Kate, Jon and Mark have worked in the education sector for over 50 years, combined. Between them, their specialisms cover all the qualifications on offer in physical education and sport here at OCR.
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