I. Introduction

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in education systems worldwide, it is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of teaching and learning. From lesson planning and content creation to learner assessment and personalized support, intelligent tools are transforming the roles, practices, and professional development pathway of teachers. Despite growing optimism about AI’s potential, educators’ experiences remain uneven. Factors such as unequal access to technology, varying levels of digital and AI literacy, and different cultural perceptions of technology’s role in education contribute to this disparity. 

In many contexts, limited connectivity, inadequate training, and the absence of localized guidance frameworks continue to hinder meaningful and equitable implementation. At the same time, emerging models, such as teacher-in-the-loop, and the development of national AI competency frameworks for teachers highlight the urgent need for human-centered and pedagogically grounded strategies for AI integration.

In light of these evolving dynamics, the Global Smart Education Network (GSENet) held the "Global Dialogue on Teacher's Practices, Professional Growth, and Pedagogy in the age of AI" as part of the ongoing “Shaping AI or Being Shaped by AI?” webinar series. It aims to examine how AI is influencing teachers’ daily work and professional development. Discussions centered on: how AI is changing classroom practice, what competencies teachers need to effectively engage with AI, and how education systems can support context-sensitive, evidence-informed digital pedagogy. 

The session was moderated by Prof. Zhan Tao, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), based in Moscow. Prof. Asha Kanwar, Chair Professor at the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University and Chair of the Global Smart Education Network (GSENet), delivered the welcome remarks. Panelists included Mr. John Arnold Siena, Deputy Director for Programme and Development at SEAMEO, Bangkok; Prof. Elijah Omwenga, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University of Kenya; Dr. Natalia Amelina, Senior National Project Officer in Education and Chief of the Unit of Teacher Professional Development and Networking at UNESCO IITE; Mr. Romeo Ramirez, Senior Director of International 1Partnerships at ISTE+ASCD, United Kingdom; Ms. Sivaranjini Sinniah, Science Education Specialist at SEAMEO RECSAM, Malaysia; Dr. Ronald Ochieng Ojino, Lecturer in the Department of Computing and Informatics at the Open University of Kenya; Mr. Lu Changshun, Teaching Researcher in Education for International Understanding at Shenzhen Futian Institute of Education Sciences(On-the-job training); and Dr. Boulus Shehata, Educational Researcher at the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University. The webinar attracted over 230 participants via Zoom, and was followed by more than 850 live stream viewers across affiliated platforms.

In the opening remarks, Prof. Asha Kanwar introduced the Global Smart Education Network (GSENet) as a vibrant international platform. She reaffirmed GSENet’s mission to promote research, dialogue, and innovation in smart education through global collaboration. Prof. Kanwar extended her sincere appreciation to the co-organizing GSENet members, UNESCO IITE, ISTE, SEAMEO, and the Open University of Kenya, for their valuable partnership and contributions to the event. She presented the webinar series’s overarching theme, “Shaping AI or Being Shaped by AI?”, as a timely and important question for educators, researchers, and policymakers worldwide.

Prof. Kanwar emphasized the need to examine AI’s impact on teachers from diverse perspectives. Acknowledging both the potential and the risks of AI, she cited studies reflecting divergent experiences: while some teachers in the UK perceived that AI tools saved them up to five hours per week, controlled experiments revealed an actual time saving of only 25 minutes. Meanwhile, findings from MIT warned of possible cognitive decline and psychological dependency associated with overuse of generative AI. She called on all participants to critically reflect on how educators and stakeholders, can shape the role of AI in education, rather than be passively shaped by it. Prof Zhan Tao invited the speakers to share their insights and perspectives in the following order. 

II. Presentations 

（1） Mr. John Arnold Siena, SEAMEO 

Mr. Siena emphasized that the rapid integration of AI in education demands a systemic rethinking of teacher competencies and professional development systems. Drawing on SEAMEO’s regional experience, he indicated that while policy ambitions around AI are growing, real progress depends on simultaneously addressing the realities faced by teachers on the ground. This includes confronting the digital divide, which remains pervasive across Southeast Asia and threatens to widen inequalities if left unaddressed. 

He called for redefining what teachers are expected to know and do in the AI era, such as crafting effective prompts, interpreting data with judgment, and making ethical instructional decisions, while also transforming how they learn these competencies and the environments in which they work. He cautioned that teacher professional development (TPD) must not treat AI as a technical add-on, but rather as a driver of deeper pedagogical change. Based on SEAMEO’s experience, he underscored the need to design TPD systems that are equitable, high-quality, and efficient. 

Mr. Siena concluded with two recommendations: first, to strengthen TPD systems through clear policy-practice linkages, robust monitoring, and empowered local actors and second, to ensure that TPD is accessible, relevant, and teacher-driven, offering low-tech, customizable formats that respond to diverse teacher needs. 

（2） Mr. Romeo Ramirez, ISTE+ASCD 

Mr. Ramirez emphasized that the education sector stands at a critical juncture. While AI adoption in classrooms is accelerating globally, teacher preparation has not kept pace. Drawing on recent OECD data, he noted that in some regions up to 75% of teachers are already using AI tools, yet training varies widely, with many educators receiving little or no support. This mismatch, poses a serious risk if left unaddressed. In response, ISTE+ASCD advocates for intentional, human-centered leadership to guide AI integration, with teachers positioned not merely as users but as designers and decision-makers. 

He outlined four foundational competencies that educators need in the AI era: critical AI literacy to understand how tools function and where biases may lie; pedagogical discernment to determine when AI adds value versus when human judgment is essential; ethical responsibility and agency to ensure teachers remain in control of instructional choices; and adaptive expertise supported by ongoing professional learning. He stressed that student readiness for an AI-driven world cannot be achieved without first ensuring teacher readiness. This includes the ability to model critical thinking, ethical awareness, and the creative use of AI in the classroom. 

Highlighting ISTE+ASCD’s “Generation AI” initiative, he underscored the importance of culturally responsive, equity-driven teacher development at scale. He introduced three principles for human-centered AI use: keeping teachers in the loop for all pedagogical decisions, using AI as a scaffold rather than a substitute, and designing for equity from the outset. In closing, he called on all stakeholders to invest in sustained, practice-embedded professional development and reminded participants that AI is a tool, not a destiny—the future of education will be defined by human choices grounded in pedagogy, equity, and trust. 

（3） Ms. Natalia Amelina, UNESCO IITE

Ms. Natalia Amelina highlighted the UNESCO IITE’s three-decade legacy of advancing educational technologies globally. Her presentation centered on how AI can support equity, creativity, and the development of soft skills in education, while also addressing the critical need to avoid being passively shaped by technology. She emphasized that AI, when responsibly designed and deployed, holds transformative potential to foster personalized learning, promote inclusion, and reduce inequality. Through adaptive tools, such as speech recognition, real-time translation, and learner analytics, AI can help tailor education to diverse learners, including those with disabilities, while also easing teachers’ administrative burdens and enhancing their ability to focus on mentorship and pedagogy. 

Ms. Amelina also highlighted the risks associated with algorithmic bias, digital exclusion, over-reliance on automation, and the lack of representation in AI design processes. These challenges, she noted, often reinforce pre-existing inequities, particularly for marginalized communities and persons with disabilities. To build a more inclusive AI future, she called for inclusive co-design practices, ethical governance, hybrid learning solutions, and strong global collaboration. For effective classroom use, Ms. Amelina recommended that teachers embed AI meaningfully into existing lessons, mandate student reflection, and prioritize equity in tool selection and use. She concluded by showcasing recent UNESCO IITE publications on inclusive and gender-responsive AI in education and encouraged the use of the “E-Library for Teachers” as a freely accessible global resource hub for educators. 

（4） Ms. Sivaranjini Sinniah, SEAMEO RECSAM 

Ms. Sinniah emphasized the growing relevance of AI in reshaping teaching practices and advancing professional growth across Southeast Asia. Representing a regional center dedicated to science and mathematics education, she introduced RECSAM’s work in integrating AI literacy, STEM-based pedagogies, and digital competencies into teacher training. She noted that AI is already being used by teachers to generate lesson plans, summarize content, and scaffold learning in multilingual classrooms, particularly valuable in the diverse linguistic and cultural contexts of Southeast Asia. This shift calls for a redesign of classroom tasks that go beyond answer recall, encouraging students to demonstrate reasoning, reflection, and higher-order thinking. 

She outlined the evolving competencies teachers must now develop in an AI-enhanced environment, including critical evaluation of AI outputs, ethical data use, assessment redesign, and collaborative decision-making alongside intelligent systems. She also acknowledged the challenges educators face, including misinformation in AI responses, bias in datasets, inequitable access to technology, and insufficient professional development. In response, RECSAM has implemented regional initiatives to build teacher readiness, such as a month-long training program for educators from SEAMEO member countries. This program combined conceptual learning with hands-on school trials and showed measurable improvements in teachers’ AI integration capabilities. She stated that AI only strengthens learning when teachers lead, advocating for professional empowerment as the foundation for ethical, creative, and strategic use of AI in education. 

（5） Dr. Ronald Ochieng Ojino, Open University of Kenya 

Dr. Ronald Ojino offered a perspective from the Open University of Kenya and the broader national context, highlighting both structural challenges and institutional responses to AI integration in education. He indicated that education is at the frontline of AI-driven change, not because of educators, but due to students increasingly bringing technology into classrooms. Therefore, teachers must adapt quickly and even outpace their students in understanding AI. However, this adaptation is hindered in Kenya by several systemic barriers, including the digital divide, affordability of devices and connectivity, limited pedagogical integration, and ethical concerns such as fears of job displacement and data privacy risks. 

Dr. Ojino outlined Kenya’s national efforts to advance AI literacy, including the ongoing development of a National AI and Emerging Technology Policy and the implementation of "teacher-in-loop" training across Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. Universities such as the Open University of Kenya (OUK) are offering degree programs in AI and data science, while other initiatives like AI upskilling for public servants are being led by national authorities. Yet, despite increased student enrollment and a vibrant policy landscape, Dr. Ojino emphasized the lack of proportional investment in teacher training in AI, and appropriate institutional policies and infrastructure. 

Dr. Ojino shared how the Open University of Kenya has launched community engagement efforts, is providing free or affordable AI training, and is incorporating AI into curriculum design, personalized learning systems, and inclusive practices like lecture video captioning. A key emphasis was placed on the ideal profile of an AI-literate teacher, the one who uses AI thoughtfully, verifies outputs critically, and reflects on AI’s influence on their thinking. Looking ahead, Dr. Ojino called for more targeted work on AI assessment frameworks, continuous and inclusive teacher training platforms, and expanding partnerships to ensure that AI implementation is both pedagogically effective and socially responsible. 

（6） Mr. LU Changshun, Shenzhen Futian Institute of Education Sciences

Mr. LU Changshun shared his perspective as a front-line teacher and provided a concrete example of how AI is used in English teaching. He contextualized the role of English teachers in China across four interconnected systems: the microsystem of the classroom, the mesosystem of in-school teaching and research groups, the exosystem shaped by district- and city-level expert teams, and the macrosystem formed by national educational policies. Among these, the mesosystem and exosystem provide key support structures for teachers’ professional development. 

Mr. LU illustrated how AI tools are being practically integrated into English language instruction, especially at the primary level. During lesson preparation, teachers make use of the National Smart Education Platform and DeepSeek to customize teaching materials. AI-generated multimodal content, such as English songs with thematic lyrics and AI-produced audio, enhances student engagement and supports at-home learning via apps like DingTalk. He also highlighted the use of AI pronunciation tools like Eudic Dictionary, which use color-coded visual feedback to help students improve their phonetic accuracy—making abstract language skills more concrete and traceable. 

He emphasized that AI significantly enhances both teaching efficiency and student learning experiences. It enables teachers to save time, supports the development of multimodal learning resources, and empowers learners with self-directed study tools and targeted feedback. 

（7） Dr. Boulus Shehata, Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University 

Dr. Shehata shared the personal story of his 5-year-old niece who refers to the Chinese AI chatbot “Doubao” as her teacher. This anecdote highlighted a profound shift in how young children perceive AI, not merely as a tool but as a trusted mentor, prompting critical reflection on the long-term implications of growing up with AI-powered companions. 

Dr. Shehata argued that as AI becomes a ubiquitous presence in early learning, the roles of parents and teachers must evolve in tandem. Rather than competing with AI, educators and caregivers must become co-navigators, helping children critically assess AI responses, interpret the values behind them, and apply them meaningfully to real-life contexts. 

Drawing on the psychological framework of “The Five Love Languages,” he emphasized the need for age-appropriate emotional support as children transition from concrete love needs in early childhood to more nuanced emotional affirmations in adolescence. He stressed that nurturing emotional anchors are essential to guide identity formation in an era shaped by algorithmic authority. 

He identified five predicted benefits and four major risks of early AI companionship, including enhanced self-directed learning, digital fluency, and creativity, but also serious concerns such as stunted emotional development, erosion of critical thinking, and misalignment of values. Quoting Stanford AI expert, Prof. Fei-Fei Li, Dr. Shehata underscored that the challenge ahead is not to control AI but to learn how to coexist with it, ensuring that it augments rather than diminishes our humanity .

III. One-Sentence Reflections 

Dr. Boulus Shehata: Learning to coexist with AI is more important than controlling it. 

Mr. LU Changshun: The interaction between humans and their environment is inherently bi-directional—and as AI becomes an integral part of that environment, it too shapes and is shaped by human behavior. Embracing this evolving environment with openness and adaptability is the spirit that teachers must cultivate in navigating the age of AI. 

Dr. Ronald Ochieng Ojino: Educators must be active participants in co-creating and co-shaping how AI is used in education, ensuring that it supports meaningful learning. 

Prof. Elijah Omwenga: We need to learn to coexist with AI gently and gracefully, approaching it not with resistance, but with openness—so that we can integrate it thoughtfully and use it to solve real-world problems in a way that benefits both education and society. 

Ms. Sivaranjini Sinniah: AI should not replace teachers, but rather restore their time for what matters most-- human connection and meaningful learning. 

Ms. Natalia Amelina: It may be too early to fully assess AI’s impact on teachers. Instead, we should focus on shaping its role through careful tool selection, small-scale pilots, and context-sensitive integration to ensure it supports meaningful teaching and learning. 

Mr. Romeo Ramirez: Reflecting on the question “Are we shaping AI?”, we needto clarify who “we” really are. While big tech currently leads the development of AI, teachers, education leaders, and policymakers must be bolder and more proactive in asserting their role. Only by becoming more involved can they help shape AI in ways that align with educational values and societal goals. 

Mr. John Arnold Siena: AI is inevitable and ubiquitous, it’s not an enemy, but a tool, a partner, even a friend. To truly harness its potential, we must understand it and use it to empower teachers and learners, while addressing educational inequities in our societies. 

Prof. Asha Kanwar: AI is unlike any past technology, it is self-learning and rapidly evolving. As Geoffrey Hintoncautions, that if AI develops as a Superintelligence it must be shaped and developed to ‘care’ like a mother, not just compute like a machine. This responsibility lies with educators and stakeholders, not just tech companies and the future can be only be shaped collectively through close collaboration.

Ms. XU Lin: In China, the traditional educational philosophy emphasizes the concept of“教学相长” means that teaching and learning enhance each other. Similarly, the relationship between humans and AI should be mutually reinforcing. The key lies in cultivating the competence to co-work with AI in the intelligence era, while ensuring that AI is developed with care—particularly toward marginalized groups—so that this human-AI interaction remains both inclusive and empowering. 

Prof. Zhan Tao expressed deep appreciation to the GSENet Secretariat and the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University for organizing the webinar, and to all GSENet partners for their continued support. He emphasized that collaboration is the strength of human beings, especially as we learn to coexist with another form of intelligence—AI. While the future offers unprecedented opportunities, it is also marked by uncertainty. The path forward, Prof. Zhan noted, must be grounded in shared values, collective vision, and strengthened partnerships across regions and sectors, including with technology providers.

IV. Key Takeaways 

1. Teachers must remain at the center of AI integration: AI should empower, but not replace teachers. Human judgment, guidance, and feedback remain essential. 

2. Teacher competencies need urgent upgrading: Teachers must develop AI literacy, ethical awareness, pedagogical discernment, and adaptive expertise to thrive in the AI era. 

3. Professional development must be ongoing, localized, and accessible: Training should be sustained, culturally responsive, and embedded in everyday practice. 

4. AI-Equity must be designed: Without intentional design, AI may deepen existing inequalities, especially in low-resource and underserved contexts. 

5. AI supports inclusion, personalization and creativity: AI tools are enabling multilingual, multimodal, and learner-centered approaches, particularly valuable in diverse educational settings. 

6. Pedagogical and assessment models are shifting: Teachers are redesigning learning tasks and assessments to emphasize reasoning, reflection, and higher-order thinking over rote answers. 

7. Systemic barriers continue to limit AI’s potential in education: Infrastructure gaps, policy fragmentation, limited teacher preparation, and ethical concerns still constrain meaningful implementation. 

8. Cultural sensitivity and human values must be considered: AI tools in education must align with local contexts, languages, and social priorities to ensure inclusive and relevant learning. 

9. Educators must take an active role in shaping AI: While tech companies drive AI innovation, teachers, leaders, and policymakers must assert their agency to ensure educational priorities are addressed. 

10. Global cooperation is essential for human-centered AI in education: In an age of uncertainty, collaboration is vital to building responsible, inclusive, and equitable smart education systems worldwide. 8