On 15 April 2026, Associate Prof Ben Leong, Director of the AI Centre for Educational Technologies (AICET), conducted a masterclass for Fellows of the Smart Nation Educator Fellowship (SNEF). Organised by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the session explored how to build a pedagogical mindset towards AI.
The masterclass invited Fellows to move beyond a tool-focused view of AI and think more deeply about what educators ought to do with AI in ways that meaningfully support student learning. The session invited Fellows to identify the right teaching challenges, reconsider what should be prioritised in an AI-rich world, and reflect on the role of human judgment, context, and pedagogy in shaping learning design.
The session combined a talk, group activities, participant sharing, hands-on prototyping, and a final synthesis of key learning points. Across these activities, Fellows examined a central message of the session: technology alone does not improve education. Rather, meaningful innovation is grounded in strong pedagogy, thoughtful problem framing, and a clear understanding of how AI can extend and enrich the work of teaching and learning.
Drawing on examples from AICET’s work, the masterclass highlighted how AI can be used not only to improve efficiency, but also to create new learning possibilities. Fellows were encouraged to think beyond simply giving students access to AI tools, and instead consider how AI might be designed to support authentic practice, reflection, better questioning, and the development of important human capabilities such as judgment and metacognition.
A key focus of the session was helping Fellows reframe their approach to AI integration. Instead of starting with the technology itself, they were guided to begin with a teaching problem or learning need, think about what a better pedagogical approach might look like, and then consider how AI could be meaningfully applied. Through group discussions and prototyping, Fellows explored how this mindset could help them design more thoughtful and purposeful AI-supported learning experiences in their own contexts.
The masterclass reflected AICET’s continued commitment to pedagogy-first innovation in education. As AI becomes increasingly present in classrooms and curriculum planning, sessions like this play a vital role in helping educators engage with AI critically, responsibly, and creatively.