How Fortes Education is Equipping Educators with the Skills to Integrate AI into the Classroom.
Fortes Education is pioneering a transformative approach to teacher professional development as schools worldwide grapple with integrating AI tutors into K-12 classrooms, according to a strategic positioning paper released recently by Fortes Education’s Director of Education, Dr Neil Hopkin who is a global thought leader on the implementation of AI in education.
The comprehensive strategy re-envisages teachers as “learning architects” rather than mere content deliverers, acknowledging that AI’s entry into education through ‘AI Tutors’ will demand fundamental shifts in pedagogy and classroom management. “For AI tutors to be successfully implemented, teachers must develop digital pedagogical fluency,” Dr. Hopkin emphasises. This includes the ability to interpret AI-generated insights, facilitate meta-cognitive learning, and seamlessly blend AI tools into instructional strategies.
AI tutors require digital fluency—Fortes Education is leading the transformation
The Fortes Education approach, deployed in their schools, Sunmarke and Regent International School, includes innovative professional development pathways, such as AI literacy foundations, data analytics training, and ethics instruction. Central to this approach is the establishment of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) where educators work in collaboration to refine AIintegrated teaching methods. Fortes has an AI Professional Learning programme on its own in-house platform known as The Fortes Institute offering modular micro-credential programs, addressing the concern that without proper training, AI might widen learning disparities rather than close them.
“Teachers will need to implement cognitive overlays into their lesson plans that will require students to reflect, critique, and question AI-generated content,” explains Dr. Hopkin. “This will ensure that the child’s school experience remains as human-led learning, enhanced by AI. But crucially it also ensures that the child’s skillset development is focused on higher order, creative leveraging of AI, rather than simply passive consumption of AI skills.”
Teachers must become ‘learning architects’ to successfully integrate AI in education
Fortes Education’s strategy also addresses classroom equity concerns, proposing dynamic learning analytics dashboards that enable teachers to track student progress in real-time and intervene before gaps widen. Similarly, parental concerns about screen time haven’t been overlooked. Dr Hopkin recommends reframing the conversation from quantity to quality of digital engagement, implementing structured AItime management models, and creating “no-tech learning zones” within the school day.
Fortes Education’s approach emphasises that successful AI integration requires a holistic strategy addressing pedagogical shifts, classroom equity, parental concerns, and teacher up-skilling, thereby positioning Fortes Schools at the forefront of innovation while preserving the critical human elements of education.