Teacher in the Loop AI National Bootcamp: Teachers’ Lay Foundation for AI Integration in Indian Classrooms
New Delhi, 30 September 2025
The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), in collaboration with CBSE, CISCE and SCERT Haryana, organised the Teacher in the Loop AI National Bootcamp (Cohort 2.0) on 30 August 2025 at New Delhi. The one-day programme brought together over 130 secondary-level mathematics teachers from across the country.
The bootcamp served as a platform for inter-board collaboration, the exchange of classroom practices, and collective problem-solving. Guided by subject expert Dr. R. C. Srivastava, teachers engaged in group discussions and activities to identify challenging concepts in the Grade 10 Mathematics curriculum, analyse teaching–learning gaps, and highlight common student misconceptions. They further worked in teams to propose practical approaches, classroom strategies, and assessment methods to address these challenges.
The programme opened with welcome remarks by Dr. B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, setting the tone for the day. Dr. Shadrach highlighted AI's potential in education, particularly in routine tasks. He emphasised three key aspects to leverage AI effectively: “learning to think” - developing critical thinking skills to complement AI's capabilities; “thinking within a discipline”- engaging deeply with subjects like mathematics, understanding its standards, and participating in ongoing dialogues; “applying to real-world challenges”- using AI to tackle practical problems and think collectively.
Dr. Biswajit Saha, Director, Skill Education at CBSE, emphasised, “transforming math learning into a joyful and effective experience” through AI and new technologies. He stressed that “adaptive learning, diagnosing learning gaps, and real-life problem integration” can bridge the policy-implementation gap, ensuring foundational literacy and math skills for all. He advocated for a collaborative approach to leverage technology, enhancing teaching capabilities and making math learning more engaging.
Dr. Sunil Bajaj, Additional Director, SCERT Haryana, stressed AI's role in fostering learning and critical thinking by creating “tailored problems and assessing challenges”, enabling educators to better understand and support student needs.
Dr. Pooja Akshay, Assistant Secretary, Skill Education, CBSE, urged teachers to push the envelope of “student imagination and problem-solving” by using AI effectively.
The day’s sessions were anchored by Mr. T. Khalid, Consultant, COL-CEMCA, with the support of Ms. Jasneet Kaur, Trainer, and Dr. R. C. Srivastava, SME Consultant, CEMCA, leading subject expert discussions and activities. The agenda featured interactive sessions including Math Maze: Finding the Tough Turns and Think Tank: Building Solutions, where teachers identified challenging areas of the NCERT Grade 10 Mathematics curriculum, discussed classroom experiences, and brainstormed AI-assisted solutions.
Key Outcomes of the Bootcamp:
- A shared understanding of the TiL-AI project scope and expectations among participants.
- Identification and documentation of challenging Grade 10 Mathematics concepts, along with classroom experiences of difficulties and misconceptions.
- Showcasing of innovative practices, real-world application strategies, and differentiated approaches to strengthen mathematics teaching.
- Strengthened collaboration among mathematics teachers across different boards, fostering a community of practice.
The insights generated during the bootcamp will guide the next phase of the TiL-AI project (August–December 2025), ensuring that teachers’ perspectives drive the meaningful use of AI in addressing classroom challenges.
