ANCIENT WISDOM, DIGITAL AGE: WHAT DRONACHARYA KNEW ABOUT TEACHING WITH AI

Education 2047 #Blog 43 (27 JUL 2025)

 

The Semicircle That Started a Revolution

In the quiet corridors of Government Higher Secondary School, Karuvarakundu, Kerala, something extraordinary happened. Inspired by a Malayalam film called Manjummel Boys, the teachers made a simple yet profound decision: they eliminated the back rows entirely. Students now sat in a perfect semicircle around their educator, each face equally distant from knowledge, each voice equally heard. Social media erupted with debate, but the school had unknowingly ignited a much larger conversation about where teachers belong in the modern classroom—and how artificial intelligence is reshaping that answer.

This small act of spatial rebellion tells a deeper story about education's most enduring image: the teacher standing authoritatively at the front, delivering wisdom to neat rows of passive recipients. For centuries, this "sage on the stage" model served us well when education meant transferring facts from one mind to many. But today, as AI chatbots answer questions instantly and machine learning platforms adapt to individual learning styles, that familiar classroom portrait is becoming as outdated as a horse-drawn carriage on a highway.

 

The Ladder We Must All Climb

To understand where teachers should position themselves, we first need to map the territory of learning itself. Anderson and Krathwohl's revised Bloom's Taxonomy (2001) gives us six rungs on the cognitive ladder: Remembering basic facts, Understanding concepts, Applying knowledge to new situations, Analyzing connections between ideas, Evaluating different perspectives, and finally Creating something entirely new.

Each rung demands different positioning from educators, and increasingly, each level is being transformed by artificial intelligence. The question isn't whether AI will change education—it already has. HolonIQ's 2024 research reveals that 42% of students globally already use AI chatbots for academic help. The question is whether teachers will evolve their positioning to harness this transformation or be left behind by it.

Act I: Sage on the Stage

Picture a primary school classroom where seven-year-olds are learning their multiplication tables. Here, the teacher rightfully commands the front of the room, voice clear and gestures deliberate. At the foundational levels—Remembering and Understanding—direct instruction remains not just effective but essential. Young minds need structure, repetition, and the human warmth that transforms abstract symbols into meaningful knowledge.

But even here, AI is quietly revolutionizing the script. When a student struggles with fractions, ChatGPT can generate infinite practice problems tailored to their specific confusion. When concepts need visualization, tools like Khanmigo can create interactive demonstrations that make abstract ideas tangible. The teacher's role isn't diminished—it's enriched. Instead of being the sole source of information, they become the conductor of a learning orchestra where AI provides some instruments while human wisdom guides the symphony.

Consider Mrs. Sharma teaching grammar to her fifth-grade class. She explains the rules from the front as always, but now encourages students to experiment with AI tools that generate sentences, identify errors, and explore language patterns. She's still the sage, but she's sharing the stage with digital collaborators that never tire, never run out of examples, and never lose patience with repetition.

Act II: Guide by the Side

As students mature into secondary school, something magical happens—they begin to think independently. Here, the teacher's position shifts literally and figuratively. No longer planted at the front like a lighthouse, they begin to move, circulate, and guide from beside their learners. This is where Applying and Analyzing skills flourish, where knowledge transforms into capability.

In Mrs. Patel's business studies class, students use AI-powered analytics tools to examine real customer data, searching for patterns and insights. But the magic isn't in the AI's computational power—it's in Mrs. Patel's questions as she moves between groups: "What biases might this data contain? What story is it hiding? How would you convince a skeptical CEO with these findings?" The McKinsey Global Institute's 2021 research confirms what educators intuitively know: graduates with strong analytical skills are 45% more likely to secure employment in high-growth sectors, but only when they can think critically about the tools they use.

Here, AI becomes not a replacement but a powerful collaborator. Adaptive learning platforms like DreamBox personalize mathematical challenges, while virtual laboratories like Labster allow students to conduct experiments impossible in physical classrooms. The teacher's expertise lies not in competing with these tools but in helping students navigate them wisely, interpret their outputs critically, and connect their insights to larger human purposes.

Act III: Pack at the Back

The most profound transformation happens in higher education, where the teacher's position becomes almost invisible—present but unobtrusive, available but not imposing. At MIT's Media Lab, faculty don't lecture from podiums; they circulate quietly among students who are creating AI-powered prototypes, designing innovative solutions, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. This "pack at the back" positioning has yielded over 1,000 patents and dozens of successful startups—testament to what happens when educators trust learners to lead.

At these highest cognitive levels—Evaluating and Creating—AI's role becomes both more powerful and more problematic. Generative tools can help law students draft legal arguments, assist artists in exploring new styles, and enable programmers to write complex code. But here's where human judgment becomes irreplaceable: determining whether AI outputs are correct, ethical, or truly original.

Consider the flipped classrooms at JIS College of Engineering, where students arrive having already engaged with content through videos and AI learning platforms. Class time becomes sacred space for collaboration, debate, and application. Teachers position themselves at the room's periphery, moving quietly between circular tables where students grapple with real problems. When confusion arises or debates reach impasses, the teacher steps in—not to provide answers but to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and guide thinking toward deeper insights.

This positioning requires courage from educators and trust from institutions. When inspection teams visit, they might wonder why the teacher isn't lecturing from the front. But JISCE became the first Indian institution endorsed for Flipped Learning by AICTE, MHRD, The World Bank Group, UNESCO, NPIU, and Microsoft—proving that "pack at the back" teaching can mean reduced traditional lecture hours but dramatically higher learning impact.

 

The Cost of Standing Still

Yet many educators remain frozen at the front of their classrooms, even as the world transforms around them. The consequences extend far beyond individual careers—they're undermining entire nations' competitiveness. Despite India's vast education system, the country contributes only 2% of global patents according to WIPO's 2023 data. NASSCOM's research reveals that 45% of Indian engineering graduates are unemployable in knowledge economy jobs, lacking the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that modern workplaces demand.

A 2023 FICCI survey found that 65% of CEOs cite "lack of higher-order cognitive skills" among graduates as a major business challenge. These aren't skills that AI can impart through algorithms alone—they require human mentorship, guided practice, and the wisdom that comes from positioning educators where they can nurture rather than merely instruct.

 

The Dance of Complementarity

The solution isn't choosing between teachers and AI—it's orchestrating their dance. LinkedIn's 2024 Global Talent Report identifies critical thinking, creativity, and AI fluency as the top three skills employers seek. Notice that two are uniquely human, while one requires human wisdom to use effectively.

Teacher Position	Cognitive Skills Developed	AI's Role
Sage on the Stage	Remembering, Understanding	AI provides instant answers, visualizations, and adaptive content delivery
Guide by the Side	Applying, Analyzing	AI offers practice platforms and data tools; teachers coach critical evaluation
Pack at the Back	Evaluating, Creating	AI sparks ideas and generates content; teachers guide ethics, originality, and synthesis

 

This framework reveals education's future: teachers as learning architects who design experiences blending human wisdom with technological power. Their positioning becomes fluid—stepping forward when foundations need laying, moving beside when skills need practicing, staying behind when creativity needs space to flourish.

 

The Eternal Wisdom

Perhaps the ancient Indian tradition understood this long before we had words for it. Great teachers like Dronacharya and Vashisht positioned themselves behind their students, not because they lacked knowledge but because they understood something profound: true learning happens when teacher and learner look together toward the goal—not merely at each other.

In our age of artificial intelligence, this wisdom becomes more relevant than ever. The teacher's power lies not in occupying the front of the room but in knowing when to step forward, stand beside, or stay behind. AI handles routine tasks, but educators cultivate higher-order thinking, empathy, and creativity—the uniquely human capacities that no algorithm can replicate.

The future belongs to teachers and AI who learn to shape-shift together, lifting learners from memorization into a new era of evaluation, creation, and innovation. The revolution started with a simple semicircle in Kerala, but it will transform how we learn, teach, and grow as human beings in partnership with our artificial collaborators.

  * * * * * 

 About the Author

As Pro-Chancellor of JIS University in Kolkata, the author stands at the fascinating intersection where educational tradition meets technological revolution. His career has taken him through the corridors of India's most influential educational bodies—from shaping policy as an Adviser to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to forecasting technological futures as a Scientist with the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC).

His expertise in bridging the gap between emerging technologies and learning ecosystems culminated in co-authoring the seminal Technology Vision 2035: Roadmap for Education, a blueprint that envisions how India's educational future will unfold in the digital age.

The insights presented here reflect his personal observations and analysis, independent of any institutional affiliations.

 

Previous blogs 

 

§ Will Universities Survive the Age of AI and BCI ?

§ From Factories of Marks to Foundries of Character:  Indian Higher Education in the AI Age

§ Breaking the Silos: Remagining Universities without Subjects (PART II)

§ Breaking the Silos: Reimagining Universities without Subjects (PART I)

§ Designed to Label, Doomed to Lose: Rethinking a System that Fails its Learners

§ The Missing Catalyst: Peer Learning as the Core of Educational Transformation

§ The Great Educational Reversal: Responding to AI's New Role in Learning

§ Architects of Viksit Bharat: Why Universities must Recognize Achievement over Graduation

§ Liquidating Cognitive Stagnation in UG Education- The 'SPRINT' Model Blueprint for Change

§ Architects of Viksit Bharat: Why Universities must Recognize Achievement over Graduation

§ The Digital Macaulay: A Modern Threat to Indian Higher Education

§ Why Instant Information Demands a Fundamental Rethink of Education Systems?

§ From Pedagogy to AI-Driven Heutagogy: Redefining Leadership in Universities

§ NEP 2020: Can India’s Education Policy Keep Pace with the FLEXPER Revolution?

§ The Liberating Manifesto: Empowering Faculty to Break Traditional Boundaries

§ From Memory to Creativity: Rejigging Grading & Assessment for 21st Century Higher Education

§ Accreditation and Ranking in Indian Academia: Adapting to New Learning Paradigms

§ Reimagining Education: FLEXPER Learning as a Path beyond Age-based Classrooms

§ Broken by Design: The Worrying State of Secondary Education in India

§ Rethinking Learning: A World Without Curriculum, Classes, Nor Exams

§ Empowering Learners: Heutagogical Strategies for Indian Higher Education

§ Heutagogy: The Future of Learning, Rendering Traditional Education Obsolete

§ The Forgotten Half: Learning from Fallen Ideas through the Metaphor of Dakshinayana

§ 3+1 Mistakes in the Indian Higher Education System

§ Weathering the Technological Storm: The Impact of Internet and AI on Education 

§  The High Cost of Success: Examining the Dark Side of India's Coaching Culture

§  Navigating the Flaws: A Journey into the Depths of India's Educational Framework

§  From Knowledge to Experience: Transforming Credentialing to Future-Proof Careers

§  Futuristic Frameworks- Rethinking Teacher Training For Learner-Centric Education

§  Unveiling New Markers of India's Education-2047

§  Redefining Doctoral Education with Independent Research Paths

§  Elevating Teachers for India's Amrit Kaal

§  Re-engineering Educational Systems for Maximizing Learning

§  'Rubricating' Education for Better Learning Outcomes

§  Indiscipline in Disciplines for Multidisciplinary Education!

§  Re'class'ification of Learning for the New Normal

§  Reconfiguring Education as 'APP' Learning

§  Rejigging Universities with a COVID moment

§  Reimagining Engineering Education for 'Techcelerating' Times

§  Uprighting STEM Education with 7x24 Lab

§  Dismantling Macaulay's Schools with 'Online' Support

§  Moving Towards Education Without Examinations

§  Disruptive Technologies in Education and Challenges in its Governance