From August 12 to 14, the 2026 Zhongke-Jiayi Education Group held a summer research and training program for mid-career and young骨干 teachers in science education at the School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The training leverages Shanghai Jiao Tong University's high-quality teaching and research platform, focusing on the transformation of science classrooms in the AI era, helping teachers update their teaching philosophies, enhance digital teaching capabilities, and explore new pathways for talent development in the new era.
The Zhongke-Jiayi Education Group is led by Shanghai Jiading No.1 Senior High School as the lead and core school. This marks another collaboration following the June signing of an agreement between Jiading No.1 High School and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to establish the "Zhao Xicheng Class."
At the opening ceremony, Zhu Lin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, delivered a welcome speech. She stated that there is significant room for collaboration between higher education basic education research and frontline middle school classroom practice, and looks forward to deepening the linkage between the two sides, rooting in real classroom scenarios of basic education, exploring innovative paths for smart education in the context of AI, and promoting the sharing and exchange of high-quality teaching and research resources to achieve co-development and mutual empowerment in teaching research and teacher development.
Li Yuan, Chairman of the Zhongke-Jiayi Education Group and Party Secretary and Principal of Shanghai Jiading No.1 Senior High School, gave a mobilization speech. He stated that this training at Shanghai Jiao Tong University aims to leverage the "Zhao Xicheng Class" co-construction platform, Shanghai Jiao Tong University's outstanding science and innovation education resources, and the "National Excellent Program" practice base cooperation advantages to solidify the cross-stage talent development system and enhance teachers' science education capabilities. He also revealed that the group is actively planning to establish a "National Excellent Program" practice base with the School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which will send education master's students with science and engineering backgrounds to intern in the group, participate in the teaching and project guidance of the "Zhao Xicheng Class," and explore "on-demand" training to achieve precise alignment between higher education and basic education.
On the first day of the training, Associate Professor Liu Yan from the School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, delivered a lecture titled "Innovative Design and Practice of K12 Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." Drawing on cutting-edge research findings and rich classroom cases, she focused on three core dimensions—digital transformation of education, evolution of the teacher's role, and human-machine collaborative education—providing a sharing session with both theoretical depth and practical value. She emphasized that current education must focus on core competencies that AI cannot replicate, such as solving real-world problems and critical thinking, by implementing core competency cultivation through "learning by doing." "AI is not about replacing thinking, but about making thinking more directed," she said.
After the lecture, Wu Shangwen, a teacher from Jiading No.1 High School, shared her insights. Liu Lina, a teacher from Jiading District East China Normal University No.5 Affiliated School, believes that whether intelligent agents can improve students' cognitive abilities depends on the teacher's instructional design skills. Teaching must be people-oriented, relying on interdisciplinary core practical activities to promote project-based and interdisciplinary learning. "AI is not about replacing teachers, but about amplifying the wisdom of teachers in education. The most valuable aspects of physics teaching are students' persistence when experiments fail and the collision of ideas in group discussions—these require teachers to carefully safeguard," said Hou Jinhe, a teacher from Jiading District Jiayi Experimental Senior High School, sharing his thoughts based on his teaching subject.
In subsequent training sessions, teachers explored how to seize the opportunities of AI empowering education, maintain the core of education, skillfully use intelligent tools, and actively explore innovative changes in science classrooms to empower students' long-term development through various thematic lectures, on-site teaching, and seminars.
According to information from Jiading No.1 High School, the Zhongke-Jiayi Education Group covers three stages—high school, middle school, and primary school. In recent years, it has promoted group-based schooling through the "Science and Innovation Coherent Curriculum" and "Seed Teacher Training" initiatives, and has initially formed a pattern of collaborative education among universities, research institutes, and basic education institutions. In addition to AI, the topics of this summer training also cover areas such as science education, STEM education, project-based learning, and engineering education, aiming to build a professional development platform for young骨干 teachers in disciplines like primary school science, middle school physics, chemistry, and biology, and high school physics, chemistry, and biology within the group, fostering "concept integration, cross-stage communication, and tool sharing."