Teaching and learning with AI: a European adventure in three acts

Introduction

Education ministries around the world are currently striving to understand and actively shaping to the advent of AI, particularly since the emergence of generative AI (2022). The challenge is particularly complex in schools, where AI is increasingly reshaping professional practices, pedagogical processes, and traditional forms of access to, production of, and interaction with knowledge. A consortium consisting of the educational ministries in France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Slovenia along with several universities, research centres and private sector stakeholders, is proactively addressing the emerging opportunities and challenges of GenAI. The work of this consortium is coordinated by France Education International (FEI) and funded under the Erasmus+ programme. The partners are actively engaged in collectively identifying and addressing a range of emerging issues associated with AI use in education, data literacy and generative AI under the banner of three innovative European projects. 

This journey began with an Erasmus+ project named Artificial Intelligence for and by Teachers (AI4T), which focused on raising teachers’ awareness of AI and its pedagogical implications at a time when AI was still largely absent from mainstream educational policy and practice. The project anticipated many of the challenges that became globally visible following the release of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Building on these experiences, the subsequent Erasmus+ project Data Literacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence for Education (AI-DL), launched in Spring 2025, broadened the perspective from AI literacy alone toward a stronger focus on data literacy as a foundational competence in AI-mediated learning environments. Rather than treating generative AI merely as a technological innovation, the project addresses the underlying role of data in shaping AI-generated outputs, recommendations, and decision-making processes. In this context, teachers and learners are supported in developing critical thinking related to data production, treatment and interpretation, algorithmic systems, reliability of outputs, transparency, and informed decision-making.

At the same time, the Erasmus+ initiative GenAI4Schools: Empowering Schools to Explore Generative AI examines the systemic and pedagogical implications of generative AI for schools. Attention is given to the evolving role of teachers, the redesign of learning, teaching, and assessment processes, and the conditions under which generative AI can meaningfully support creativity, differentiation, feedback, and learner engagement without undermining pedagogical quality or human agency.

Taken together, the three projects reflect a progressive and increasingly differentiated approach to AI in education (AIED): from initial awareness-raising and teacher sensitisation to the development of critical thinking and data literacy competences, and finally toward broader questions of pedagogical transformation, governance, and responsible implementation of generative AI in school systems. Rather than isolated initiatives, the projects form a coherent continuum that mirrors the rapid evolution of AI technologies and their growing relevance for educational policy and practice.

AI in education

The consortium has been exploring how artificial intelligence in education (AIED) can serve not merely as a technological innovation, but as a catalyst for more inclusive, reflective, and pedagogically meaningful forms of teaching and learning. Central to this work is the question of how AI can support educational environments in which all learners are given opportunities to develop critical thinking, informed judgement, creativity, and agency in increasingly data- and AI-mediated contexts.

Over the past years, the consortium has combined research-informed analysis with iterative policy experimentation in real educational settings. Existing international research, emerging practices, and classroom realities have been systematically reviewed and translated into practical pedagogical approaches, tools, and learning scenarios that are piloted with teachers and students across different contexts. 

Importantly, these projects do not remain at the level of isolated innovation pilots. The experiences, evidence, and challenges emerging from the experimentation phases are continuously fed back into national and European policy discussions. In this way, the consortium’s work contributes to the development of more grounded guidelines, governance frameworks, teacher support structures, and policy orientations for the responsible integration of AI in education.

Artificial Intelligence for and by Teachers (AI4T): Laying the foundations

AI4T – ‘Artificial Intelligence for and by teachers’ – was a three-year pilot initiative that began in 2021 and concluded in 2024, aimed at supporting teachers in understanding and using AI, particularly in secondary education, in France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Slovenia. Coordinated by France Education International, the project brought together the five ministries of education from the participating countries, as well as public bodies, research centres and universities.

This project commenced at a time when most teachers had not even heard of AI in education and the project partnership successfully implemented a range of innovative teacher training resources and approaches. The educational resources developed included a MOOC, an Open Textbook and hybrid training sessions and these are now available to the general public to help them understand the basics of AI and its impact on education.  Tested in the five participating countries, these resources reached over 1,000 teachers from 302 European schools during the project. In France, more than 58,000 people have since taken this online training course! Since the project ended, the MOOC has been taken by teachers from over 150 countries. The Open Textbook, meanwhile, has been translated into more than fifteen different languages, including those of the European consortium, as well as Spanish, Polish, Greek, Arabic, Mandarin and Japanese, amongst others.

Furthermore, the AI4T project was presented at the World AI Summit on 7 February 2025 at France Education International (France). It has been incorporated into the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Teachers (Miao & Cukurova, 2024, page 47) and recognised as an Inspiring Practice by the Digital Education Hub. It was also highlighted in 2025 on the ESEP platform (AI for Teaching and Learning | European School Education Platform). Finally, the University of Nantes received the 2024 Open Education Global Leadership Award, partly for the AI4T project; it also received the Merlot Classics Award for 2025.

While AI4T was a tremendous success, the project partners felt they were only scratching the surface of AI and by the time of the final conference were already asking questions, such as:

• How can we take this further?
• How can we ensure that AI is used in a critical and informed manner?

AI-DL: Deepening and broadening understanding, promoting data literacy and the critical use of AI

AI-DL was born out of a desire to continue working together and to deepen the collective reflection on AI in education. Also spanning three years (2025–2028), this project is supported by the Ministries of Education of Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Slovenia. The focus is on data literacy and the development of critical thinking skills among teachers and their pupils in the context of using generative AI (GenAI) in schools. Based on a collaborative methodology, the project is supporting the creation of communities of practices in around 40 European schools, impacting more than 200 teachers. During the 2025/2026, these communities have been actively involved in the creation of key project deliverables; through questionnaires, webinars and workshops, teachers have become co-creators of the project training modules and the AI-DL framework of competencies for teachers, which will be piloted in schools from January 2027. 

The findings from the diagnostic phase conducted in 2025 have already been released and are available on the project’s website. They compile factual data, providing an overview of how data literacy is currently understood and taught in upper secondary education, and how it is evolving as a result of the rapid adoption of GenAI. The diagnostic report on teachers presents findings from a survey of 677 teachers across seven countries, exploring how GenAI is used in professional practice, how teachers understand data literacy, and what support they need. Finally, the AI-DL framework, under current revision with the teachers, is an emerging, non-prescriptive framework designed as a flexible, cross-curricular ‘tool to think with’.

The development of such tools and skills will enable teachers, students and learners to engage critically with AI-based educational technologies, thereby equipping them with the competences to make informed decisions around AI in their daily lives. 

Similar to the earlier AI4T project, AIDL is helping ministries and other partners to critically consider questions, such as:

• How can we support schools, teachers and pupils in a world where AI, and in particular generative AI, is playing an increasingly significant role?
• Are we able to clearly identify the uses of AI that can contribute to, or undermine the relationships between students and teachers? How can we rethink this new pedagogical triangle?

GenAI4Schools: Innovating for the school of tomorrow

Generative AI technologies are becoming very pervasive in all our lives, and especially in schools, where teachers and young people are using them for a wide range of activities. To address this growing usage the consortium has launched GenAI4Schools (2026–2029) to explore how generative AI is currently being integrated into school practices and under which conditions its use can be pedagogically meaningful, ethically responsible, and educationally beneficial. 

The project will explore what effective and ethical human-AI (HIA) interactions, as well as relevant uses of generative AI, could look like in schools and explore if and how they might support secondary schools in their adaptation to these technologies, whilst reinforcing human-centred teaching and learning approaches. 

Conclusion

We live in an increasingly uncertain world where advancements in digital technologies are changing many traditional working approaches, and education is no exception. This is a fast-changing area and through these three Erasmus+ projects, ministries and key stakeholders are exploring where and how these tools can add value to their education systems. Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform many aspects of education, particularly in secondary schools. Its arrival is leading teachers and school leaders to question its uses, limitations and effects on their practices, as well as on their critical thinking and that of their pupils, within constantly evolving learning environments. 

Through these three Erasmus+ projects, ministries and educational stakeholders are jointly exploring where AI can provide real pedagogical added value, but also where clear limits, safeguards, and critical reflection are needed. The projects underline that AI is not a ready-made solution for schools, but an evolving socio-technical field that requires continuous experimentation, evaluation, and pedagogical grounding.

Together, the projects form a coherent European learning process combining applied research, classroom experimentation, policy reflection, and practical tool development. Their common objective is not simply to introduce AI into schools, but to define responsible, human-centred, and educationally meaningful approaches to AI in European education systems.

In this context, the decision of several European countries to work collectively — to test, evaluate, question, and learn together — is particularly significant. The complexity and speed of current developments require collaborative reflection rather than isolated responses. Teaching and learning with AI is therefore not only about technological innovation, but about collectively shaping the future role of education in a rapidly changing society.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.