Sergei Brazhnik Says AI Education in Schools Is to Be Welcomed
An expert weighs in on the rollout of a new artificial intelligence course in Russian schools.
Photo: provided by the speaker
Russia has produced its first artificial
intelligence textbook for middle and high school students. In a pilot phase,
schools in the Moscow region have begun adding the new subject to their
curricula. In comments to IT RUSSIA, Sergei Brazhnik, managing partner of the
university Zerocoder, said the initiative is one to be welcomed.
“I had the opportunity to read the new
textbook. The team at the Alliance in the Field of AI has done extensive,
high-quality work. The material is strong and tailored to different age
groups,” he said.
But beyond the textbook itself, Brazhnik
argues that how and how extensively the subject is taught will be critical.
Expand Class Hours and Train Teachers
“The number of hours devoted to
‘Informatics’ should increase. In general education schools, the subject
currently starts in seventh grade. Now it will begin in fifth grade, and that’s
the right move. My team previously launched an informatics course on Yandex
Uchebnik (Yandex Textbook). Even back then, in the pre-neural-network era,
there was more than enough useful material for two hours a week. Those were
only the essential skills students need in today’s digital world. Studying AI
will require additional hours. Yes, the curriculum is overloaded, but I believe
colleagues at schools that are invested in this will find solutions, and
students will gain in-demand skills,” Brazhnik said.
For large-scale and effective adoption of
the new subject, he added, schools must be willing to take a critical look at
their existing curricula.
“Teacher qualifications also matter. At the
end of last year, we launched a separate course for educators on working with
neural networks. More broadly, there are now many ways to learn AI. To explain
it well, you need at least to use it yourself—and ideally to understand how it
works. Informatics teachers are probably the most digitally advanced staff in
schools, but like other teachers, they are heavily burdened with various
demands and activities. Administrators simply need to allocate time for
professional development,” Brazhnik said.
In his view, AI education in schools should
continue to expand, with a comprehensive approach to ensure high-quality
results.
