Interesting and crucial question.

At first, I think that the decrease of students' need to learn solely from educators has been existing well before AI. Perhaps it started when the internet was first introduced. After all, this is perhaps the essence of student-centered learning.

AI certainly creates new opportunities. The challenge is to show learners how to use it properly and learn from it. They should understand that it can help but they cannot passively rely on it and just take everything it gives for granted. Critical thinking and other competencies are necessary to be developed through education.

I would like to clarify that artificial intelligence cannot be a full substitute for the teacher, but rather a supportive tool that enhances the educational process. A teacher is not merely a transmitter of knowledge, but also a mentor and guide who instills values, monitors students’ psychological and behavioral well-being, and provides human interaction—roles that AI cannot fulfill.

On the other hand, artificial intelligence can facilitate learning by offering explanations, individualized exercises, and quick feedback on assignments, thus reducing the teacher’s routine workload and allowing more focus on guidance and character building.

Therefore, AI should be seen as a complement to the teacher, not a replacement.

When students have access to AI tools that can instantly provide course materials and answers, teachers must shift from being information deliverers to learning facilitators who focus on higher-order thinking and authentic application. Instead of asking students to summarize a text, have them critique AI-generated summaries for accuracy and bias, then defend their analysis with evidence. Replace traditional problem-solving exercises with complex, real-world scenarios that require synthesis across multiple concepts; for example, rather than solving isolated calculus problems, present engineering design challenges where students must justify their mathematical choices and explain trade-offs. Implement collaborative projects where students must negotiate different AI-generated solutions, teaching them to evaluate, compare, and integrate multiple perspectives rather than accepting the first response. Use AI as a learning partner by having students prompt engineer to get better responses, then reflect on why certain prompts work better than others, developing their critical thinking about information quality and source evaluation. Create assessment methods that are AI-resistant by focusing on process documentation, peer teaching, live presentations with Q&A, and reflective portfolios that demonstrate learning journeys rather than final products. Emphasize metacognitive skills by regularly asking students to explain their thinking processes, identify their knowledge gaps, and articulate how they would approach problems differently. The key is transforming the classroom into a space where AI becomes a tool for deeper exploration rather than a shortcut to answers, preparing students to be thoughtful users of technology who can discern quality, think critically, and apply knowledge creatively in novel situations.

AI has become an incredible source of knowledge, sometimes even “outperforming” teachers in speed and information. But that doesn’t mean teachers are no longer needed, because Tacit knowledge is still there, and AI can never replace it. The solution is to see teachers not as competitors to AI, but as guides and mentors. They help students think critically, make sense of information, and grow emotionally, things AI can’t truly do. By combining AI as a helpful assistant (I would say AI as a partner, not a replacement) with the human guidance of teachers, students can still feel motivated to learn from teachers while enjoying the benefits of advanced technology.

How to Improve the Teaching Level When Students Have All the AI Tools and Course Materials?

This is one of the most urgent and profound questions facing education today — and I commend you for raising it. The dynamic between teacher and student is undergoing a seismic shift. For decades, the teacher was the primary source of knowledge, the gatekeeper of understanding, the “expert at the front.” Now, with AI tools like ChatGPT, Wolfram Alpha, Photomath, and others, students can access not only answers but also step-by-step solutions, explanations, and even personalized tutoring — instantly.

So yes, the perceived need for the teacher as the sole source of knowledge has diminished. But here’s the truth: this is not the end of teaching — it’s the beginning of a deeper, more human, and more transformative kind of teaching.

Let me be clear: AI is not the new teacher. AI is a tool. The teacher is still the teacher. But the role must evolve — and rapidly.

Here’s how we improve the teaching level in this new era:

1. Shift from Content Delivery to Cognitive Mentorship

Students can get content from AI. What they cannot get — and what only a skilled educator can provide — is:

• Critical thinking scaffolding
• Metacognitive development
• Error analysis and reasoning refinement

Instead of asking, “What’s the answer?” we must design questions like:

“Why does this method work here but not in a slightly different context?” “Where might this AI-generated solution fail?” “How would you explain this concept to someone who distrusts technology?”

We become coaches of thought, not vendors of information.

2. Teach with AI, Not Against It

Prohibiting AI is like banning calculators in the 1980s. Instead, integrate AI as a co-learner. For example:

• Have students use AI to solve a math problem, then critique the solution.
• Compare AI outputs with peer solutions — where are the gaps in logic or clarity?
• Use AI to generate “wrong” solutions and ask students to debug them.

This builds AI literacy — a critical 21st-century skill.

3. Focus on the “Why” and the “So What?”

AI gives answers. Great teachers ask better questions.

In mathematics, this means:

• Emphasizing problem posing over problem solving.
• Exploring multiple solution paths and their implications.
• Connecting concepts across disciplines and real-world contexts.

When students understand why a formula exists, not just how to use it, they engage in deeper learning — something AI cannot replicate on its own.

4. Cultivate the Human Elements of Learning

Empathy, curiosity, perseverance, collaboration — these are not algorithmic. They are nurtured through relationship.

The classroom must become a space for:

• Dialogue, not monologue
• Struggle, not just speed
• Creativity, not just correctness

When students feel seen, challenged, and respected, they don’t turn to AI to replace the teacher — they use AI to extend their learning, with the teacher as guide.

5. Redefine Assessment

If AI can do the homework, then homework can no longer be the assessment. We must assess:

• Process over product
• Reflection over replication
• Communication over computation

Use oral exams, project-based learning, peer teaching, and portfolios. Let students show their thinking, not just submit an answer.

Final Thought:

The question isn’t “How do we compete with AI?” It’s “How do we become irreplaceably human in the learning process?”

The best teachers have always done more than deliver content. They inspire, they challenge, they awaken. AI cannot do that — not now, not ever.

Our job isn’t to be better than AI at giving answers. Our job is to be better at asking questions that matter.

Let’s stop fearing obsolescence — and start embracing our evolution.

Sergio Leal Ramirez Thank you for you deep contribution, I really appreciate it.

Mohamed M. El-shafhy Rabia Malik Samuel Amo Boateng Samuel Amo Boateng Hussein Naayes António José Rodrigues Rebelo

The best way currently to have a good and distinguished level of teaching , more than the AI offers, is to link every scientific subject that we teach to the actual job and in which part this scientific subject will be found in his work, and to make a link between the scientific subject and the most famous interview questions in major companies. In this way, you will have provided unique content to the student, and there is no substitute for it in AI. Also, we should try to take the material from just equations and numbers to a translation of what each equation represents in reality and to see a practical example of it. This will make the content interesting and unique. Even the assignments required of the student in this scientific subject will be very interesting and difficult to use AI to solve. My regards to you.

Mohamed M. El-shafhy Thank you for your valuable answer, I appreciate it.

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