Professor Jing Lei, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Education and an expert on instructional design and information and communication technology, traveled across China during November 2024 to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on teaching and teacher development, a topic of her recent research.
From November 1 to 6, Lei attended the Global Education Dean’s Forum (GEDF), held in the cities of Shanghai and Lijiang. East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai hosted the first part, with Lei acting as host and facilitator for a panel focused on “AI and Teacher Education,” one of four, simultaneous 90-minute panels that reported out to the conference, which welcomed representatives from 32 universities and international organizations across five continents.
The second part was hosted by Lijiang Teachers’ College (LTC) in the southwest of China. “Located in one of the least developed areas of China and with the most ethnicity groups, LTC is a partner institution with ECNU,” explains Lei. “The goal of the partnership is for ECNU, as one of the best teacher education universities in a highly developed area, to help LTC improve the quality and opportunities for teacher education.”
Lei adds, “The presentations and discussions at LTC focused on educational equity and equality issues and education for indigenous groups. We also visited a local ethnicity elementary school.”
On November 5, during GEDF, Lei also gave an online research talk hosted by the Shanghai International Studies University on “Integrating AI into Teaching: Implications for Teachers.” This talk focused on how teachers can work together with AI technology in complementing ways and how teacher education programs can prepare teachers for the AI era.
Lei next traveled to Macau, an administrative district of China across the Zhujiang River Delta from Hong Kong, for the Education Innovations Through Technology (EITT) conference, held from November 8 to 10.
“This is one of the two annual conferences of the Society of International Chinese in Education (SICET),” Lei explains. “This year’s EITT was hosted by the University of Macau. I gave a brief welcome address at the opening ceremony as SICET’s President-Elect before giving a keynote speech.”
Lei’s keynote—”Integrating AI in Education: Lessons from Empirical Research”—is based on synthetical literature reviews and theoretical explorations. It discusses the research trends in integrating AI into teaching and learning, shares an analysis of the implications to educational practices, and makes recommendations for research and practices on integrating AI in education.
