Reimagining schools
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IMAGINE if a cross-section of school leaders answered a simple question: how do you envision your school in 2035? Not too long into the future but far enough to consider how the process of teaching and learning would change. None of us had fathomed how fast and furiously AI would change the world; fewer still can appreciate its impact.
For AI to transform education in Pakistan, we would have to equip not only students but also our teachers to revisit their thinking around what the students should be taught. Is it answers that we are teaching or thinking processes that can empower students to use AI to get the maximum benefit from their learning?
If AI can condense textbook knowledge into simply worded summaries, generate visuals for quick retention and provide answers to conceptual questions, one would think AI would have done the work of school teachers. While it is tempting to buy this simplistic solution to the education crisis in Pakistan, the truth is the tool itself is preceded by a deep understanding of what is actually required.
It involves an understanding of student learning outcomes, as well as expertise in framing prompts that will yield valid and credible results. There is a critical thinking model in place that enables students to use AI to their advantage and not everyone can have a grip on it without knowing how to ask questions.
Asking questions has long been anathema to teachers within our education system. Redesigning schools would mean we would have to include interrogation and investigation skills, allowing freedom of dissent and self-expression before our students can venture into the brave new world of technology-powered education.
Teachers will have some difficult choices.
Teachers will have some difficult choices. They would have to be willing to choose mentorship over lecturing, projects involving real-world problems over content memorisation, technical competencies over lightweight note-taking, etc.
Much of how a lesson is curated will need to make way for personalised learning, with inclusiveness and well-being at the heart of student growth. Teachers cannot continue in their role as ‘knowledge providers’ — sources of knowledge are mushrooming in ways that will outperform the best among them. However, teachers can retain their role of guidance and mentorship, like the Greek philosophers who taught students to think rather than feeding them the answers.
Socratic questioning, for example, has made a comeback in a big way. Schools are putting children in charge of looking up information for themselves and judging its veracity. Many schools are supporting children as they nose-dive into real-world problems with tools such as financial literacy, entrepreneurship, community initiatives and even politics with the Model United Nations.
These tools are here to stay and they will take up more of our students’ time than learning by rote did previously. The change is not only welcome, it is the only hope for a generation that is no longer willing to accept passive listening in brick-and-mortar classrooms. They need wiggle room as demonstrated by their screen addiction; they learn what they want to, not what they need to.
Growth lies where focus and attention goes — and that’s what educators will need to urgently reassess. Historically, educators in our schools have focused on teaching for exams. However, a student’s journey from kindergarten to grade eight is a decade-long opportunity to develop a range of skills, teaching analyses, problem-solving and higher-order thinking as a priority. It is also a prime opportunity to develop motivation, independence and a love of learning.
The years at school are the ones where students are meant to thrive, not just get through homework and exam preparation. We often get derailed into assuming that activity-based classes are for fun and there is no real learning taking place. Many teachers feel they cannot make time for activities.
An activity-based approach is meant to further learning, not divert from it. Learning objectives can be achieved faster through activities; as students engage in activities, they get to demonstrate what they know and how they think. They also benefit from collaborating and learning from their peers’ thinking process. It becomes a form of collective learning rather than absorbing content from a single source — the teacher. It also allows for more efficient monitoring with students contributing content that will showcase what they know and also reveal the gaps where they need support.
When students are given the opportunity to speak up and contribute, it builds confidence and self-expression, and develops a deeper understanding of content. Teaching then starts to evolve from instruction to inspiration.
The writer is a teacher educator, author and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.
X: @nedamulji
Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2025
