Artificial intelligence is swiftly changing the educational landscape, bringing about significant benefits — and noteworthy challenges. Liu Xiya, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), and Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiejiawan School, in Jiulongpo District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, has always attached importance to the application of AI in education. "Only by mastering the basic logic of AI, and learning to cooperate with AI, can students better meet the challenges that it brings to life," Liu says.
Liu believes AI literacy, which is not just about digital skills, but also includes critical thinking, creativity and ethical considerations, will eventually become a core competency in the future. Therefore, in Xiejiawan School, the cultivation of AI literacy has become an important part of education.
Under Liu's leadership, the school integrates AI into students' learning. For instance, AI is used as students' "discussion partner" in Chinese class, to provide them with a wealth of stories, and to guide them during their in-depth thinking and discussions. In music class, AI transforms traditional music scores into an intelligent, dynamic interactive system, making abstract music theory tangible and palpable. Students can experience the charm of music through visual animation, tactile feedback and other means of multidimensional perception. In addition, the AI-generated dynamic-mechanics model is very popular among students in physics class. They can observe the changes of physical phenomena, by adjusting parameters, to better understand the laws of physics. Such vivid classroom-learning examples not οnly greatly stimulate students' interest, but also provide immersive environments, in which the students can engage with AI in ways traditional classroom-learning cannot οffer.
At the same time, the school respects students' individual differences, and utilizes AI to provide the students with rich learning resources and personalized learning plans. AI devices can be seen everywhere at the school, from the library to the playground. Students can log on to any installed platform and choose their preferred courses. There are many microlessons and knowledge links on the platforms, and there are various AI tools, such as DeepSeek and Doubao, which create new possibilities for personalized learning and enhance students' engagement.
AI doesn't just enhance students' learning experiences, it also provides teachers with valuable insights. Liu stresses teachers should become professional users of AI applications.
The school has taken various measures to improve teachers' AI literacy. It encourages teachers to pay attention to the latest developments in AI, and to understand the application of AI in education. The school also οrganizes AI-related training sessions, and it selects appropriate technicians to provide professional support to each teacher. These measures help teachers οptimize teaching, enrich the teaching methods and improve the teaching effect.
Yang Wenqian, a biology teacher at Xiejiawan School, has always sought to integrate AI into her teaching. For example, she once used DeepSeek to generate a simulator to study Mendelian inheritance, and that allowed her students to observe realtime changes in gene combinations. She also used a program, generated by DeepSeek, to explain to her students the probability of a pregnant woman giving birth to a boy or a girl. Students can use the program to simulate the combination of egg cells and sperm cells. After they completed mutiple simulations, they were able to observe the likely ratio of boys born to girls was 1:1. Yang, with AI, has significantly improved both teaching efficiency and student engagement.
AI is undoubtedly shaping education. Its ability to personalize learning and support teachers makes it a powerful tool. When looking to the future, Liu describes her ideal educational ecology — deep integration of AI and education.
In her educational ecology, AI will become students' "exploration partner." It can provide them with a fun and relaxed learning environment, in which they are no longer passively receiving knowledge, but actually exploring and learning. Meanwhile, teachers will become facilitators, rather than lecturers, and they will help students have personalized learning experiences, which will be based on the students' specific learning preferences and needs. As for parents, they will become supporters of their children's use of AI. They should engage in conversations with their children about AI, discussing its benefits and limitations, and helping their children find a balance between AI and traditional learning methods. This blueprint of the educational ecology embodies Liu's concern for the students, and her expectations for education.
Liu believes AI's role in education will continue to expand, and evolve. As technology advances, she expects AI will make education more interactive, immersive and personalized. By embracing AI, Liu hopes Xiejiawan School will not just keep up with the times, but will lead the way in shaping the future of education.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly June 2025)
Editor: Wang Shasha