AI in the classroom

Part 1

THERE IS no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly redefining the way we educate and by extension the nature and purpose of education.

Given the renewed thrust by the government to infuse digital technologies in the school system, it is imperative that the role of AI in the teaching and learning process is carefully defined and structured in a manner that will serve to augment current pedagogy and ultimately enhance student learning outcomes.

Given its exponential growth, AI has been forcing educators and school systems across the world to alter their approach to educating, from kindergarten to university.

In this regard it might be instructive to examine the experience of other systems that have embraced the structured and regulated infusion of digital technologies as a learning tool aligned to curriculum objectives.

Estonia, a former Baltic republic of approximately 1.4 million people, has quietly emerged as one of Europe’s top education-performing countries, based on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). In the 2022 PISA, Estonia came out on top in the areas of mathematics, science and reading.

Among the reasons cited for this success was the willingness of the government to embrace digital technologies in its education system as a learning tool. In 1997, an ambitious initiative called “Tiger Leap” was instituted to enhance all schools’ technology infrastructure. By 2001 all its schools were connected to the internet.

The programme was built on three pillars – computers and the internet, basic teacher training, and native-language electronic courseware for general educational institutions. Its primary focus was on building ICT competencies of students, teachers, and educational staff. This included the creation of electronic educational materials, in-service training, and support of teacher co-operation and experience exchanges.

By 2012 two more critical steps were taken with the aim of improving the technological literacy and digital competence of teachers and students (Proge Tiger), as well as the launch of the IT Academy, which promoted a co-operation and development programme between the state, ICT sector companies, and universities, aimed at improving the quality and international competitiveness of higher ICT education, ensuring the necessary labour resources for the field with a view to creating the conditions for growth in the ICT sector.

By 2020 the Estonian government established five strategic priorities for its education system:

1. A change in the approach to learning.

2. Competent and motivated teachers and school leadership.

3. The concordance of lifelong learning opportunities with the needs of the labour market.

4. A digital focus to lifelong learning.

5. Equal opportunities and increased participation in lifelong learning.

Come September, Estonian students will now be able to use their smartphones in class since they will be given their own AI accounts in an initiative called “AI Leap,” which will equip all students and teachers with world-class AI tools and skills. By the spring of 2027, it aims to provide free access to top-tier AI learning tools for 58,000 students (16-17-year-olds) and 5,000 teachers – a very ambitious and audacious vision.

Teachers will be trained in the integration of technology, focusing on self-directed learning and digital ethics, prioritising educational equity and AI literacy, according to its education minister at a recently concluded Education World Forum in London.

Stressing the importance of not just embracing the technology in the classroom but providing guidelines for its responsible use, the minister indicated that this is the next logical step in the country's programme that began back in 1997.

The minister envisions an AI revolution, entailing an end to traditional essays, homework and the need to memorise, opting instead to shift from traditional testing to oral exams. This approach is intended to develop higher-order cognitive skills in young people, mindful that rote learning is now unnecessary in an AI world that is here to stay.

The primary challenge is to ascertain how and to what extent educators, based on their professional judgement, can draw upon the technology as an educational tool; in essence how to control the technology rather than allow the technology to control us.

While the provision of devices for our secondary students is a first step in bridging the digital divide, the need for a strategic plan entailing how the technology is embraced and deployed is critical and requires the targeted training of teachers and provision of commensurate resources. The task is to decolonise our thinking and perception of AI, recognising the potential it holds if used wisely.

(We will continue this discussion in Part 2 of this series next week)