M{AI}L brings Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into Portuguese classrooms
How can Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning become part of everyday learning? In Portugal, the M{AI}L project explored this question through hands-on classroom activities involving teachers and students across different subjects.
As part of WP3 – Machine-Assisted Learning, the M{AI}L classroom implementation took place in two schools of Agrupamento de Escolas José Estêvão: Escola Secundária José Estêvão, with students from 7th and 8th grades, and Escola Básica de São Bernardo, with students from 5th and 6th grades.
The implementation involved 176 students, 11 teachers and 30 classroom sessions, with students aged between 10 and 14 years old. AI and Machine Learning activities were integrated into a wide range of subjects, including Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Physical Education, Music Education, Visual Arts and Digital Literacy/ICT, as well as interdisciplinary activities.
Learning AI by doing
Rather than approaching Artificial Intelligence only from a theoretical perspective, students had the opportunity to experiment directly with Teachable Machine, working with image, audio and pose recognition.
Students collected data, trained Machine Learning models, tested their results and reflected on the strengths and limitations of Artificial Intelligence. The activities were supported by the M{AI}L Handbook and adapted to different curricular contexts by participating teachers.
This hands-on approach encouraged students to explore their own ideas and think about how AI could be used in different areas of learning.
243 ideas generated by students
One of the most interesting outcomes of the Portuguese implementation was the number and diversity of ideas generated by students.
In total, 243 project ideas were collected, with 221 validated as suitable for implementation with Teachable Machine. The ideas addressed topics ranging from geometry and environmental studies to music, sports, natural sciences, cultural heritage, languages and digital literacy.
Teachers reported very high student engagement throughout the implementation, noting that students quickly understood the basic concepts of Machine Learning and showed creativity when developing their own AI project ideas.
What did the experience show?
The implementation also highlighted some of the practical considerations involved in bringing AI activities into the classroom. Teachers identified challenges related to classroom logistics, data quality, background noise in audio activities, lighting conditions for image recognition and the time needed to support students in developing their ideas.
At the same time, the overall experience was reported as highly positive, demonstrating the potential of hands-on AI activities to be integrated across different areas of the curriculum.
From classroom experience to wider educational impact
The Portuguese implementation is part of the wider M{AI}L classroom experience, which is bringing AI and Machine Learning into different educational contexts across the project countries.
The results and experiences gathered through the implementation will contribute to the project’s wider dissemination activities and will be shared with teachers, schools and education stakeholders through the M{AI}L School Fairs.