Daithí Ó Murchú
10 Mar 2025
Teacher and Student Roles in the Classroom of the Future
The advent of AI Singularity heralds a paradigm shift, reshaping teacher and student roles within educational ecosystems. This second contribution to a series of online Blogs on this subject, builds on Ó Murchú’s (2005) insights, examining the AI-enhanced classroom’s dynamics, where teachers and students co-construct learning in a synergistic human-AI environment. Drawing from emerging studies on constructionism, quantum learning, and cognitive ecosystems, this article delineates actionable frameworks for educators to embrace these roles, underpinned by cross-reality, culturally adaptive, and ethically sound methodologies.
1. Introduction: Framing the Shift
Ó Murchú (2005) posited a radical transformation of teacher-student roles in technology-supported environments. With AI Singularity, this shift accelerates as human and machine intelligences converge (Zohuri & Mossavar-Rahmani, 2024). Teachers transition from knowledge transmitters to facilitators, co-navigating a landscape where AI amplifies student agency, adaptive learning, and knowledge networks (Ahmed & Martinez, 2024).
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: CONSTRUCTIONISM IN THE AI CLASSROOM
AI-enhanced classrooms call for constructioNism (Anderson & Zhang, 2024), where learning emerges from students’ interactions with AI in context-rich environments. This model, rooted in Papert’s (1980) constructivist principles, is augmented by AI’s capability to model complex concepts in real-time. Practical applications include project-based learning, where AI tools guide students in solving global issues, from climate change to socio-economic challenges.
Read the rest here: Issue 10 | Exploring EdTech