The International Classroom Analysis Laboratory of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction (ICI) at East China Normal University, Shanghai, was established in October 2017. The lab draws extensively on the professional expertise of ICI, and our research encompassed AI-empowered classroom video analysis, pedagogical innovations and teacher professional developments. Over the past few years, the Laboratory has collaborated with top international institutes to hold academic conferences and to carry out cutting-edge research projects. In addition, the lab has formed long-term strategic partnership with over 100 elementary or secondary schools in China and beyond.

Preparation Stage

During the preparation stage for the establishment of the laboratory in the spring of 2017, Associate Professor XIAO Sihan, the first executive director of the International Classroom Analysis Laboratory, has taken opportunities of overseas academic conferences to extensively solicit opinions and suggestions from several internationally renowned classroom research experts.

During internal meetings at the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, Professor XIAO Sihan held extensive discussions with several experts at the Institute, including Prof. CUI Yunhuo, Prof. KE Zheng and Prof. AN Guiqing, and they eventually determined the overarching goal for research conducted in the laboratory, what is, "to be rooted in the Chinese classroom context, to focus on classroom discourse and interaction, and to foster deep learning and effective teaching."

In the early days of its establishment, the International Classroom Analysis Laboratory invited many overseas scholars in the field of education to Shanghai, in order to get in line and dialogue with top experts who conducted cutting-edge research in classroom analysis. These in-depth discussions focused on heated topics such as classroom teaching, video analysis, and classroom discourse analysis. Overseas experts invited to the laboratory included (from left to right) Professor Lynn W. Paine, Associate Dean of the College of Education at Michigan State University in the United States and a renowned expert in international comparative education; Professor David J. Clarke, Director of the Center for International Classroom Studies at the University of Melbourne in Australia; and Dr. Esther Chan, a researcher at the Center for International Classroom Studies.

In addition, the International Classroom Analysis Lab signed strategic cooperation agreements with the International Classroom Research Centre at the University of Melbourne and long-term cooperation agreements with Merit Lab at Washington State University in the United States, respectively.

Technology Empowerment

In the era of unprecedented developments in digital technology and artificial intelligence, Associate Professor YANG Xiaozhe, the current executive director of the International Classroom Analysis Lab, has taken advantage of the current trend of merging online and offline education, led the team to introduce technology into classroom analysis, and to commit to exploring effective paths to create technology-empowered classrooms.

With the support from the expert team of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, the Lab proposed its first classroom intelligent analysis standard, which focused on being “multimodal, evidence-based and pioneering.” The standard was based on cutting-edge theoretical understanding and extensive classroom practices situated in the Chinese context. In addition, the lab has designed, put into practice, and continuously improved its classroom intelligent analysis platform. To visit the platform, please go to http://lab.aiclassroom.net.

These research efforts aim to fill in the gap of a lack of solid theoretical underpinnings in the field of technology-empowered classroom research. In addition, due to its time-consuming nature, classroom analysis and assessment was often difficult to scale up. In response to this difficulty, the classroom intelligent analysis platform managed to automate the analytical process, thanks to AI technology, and thus helped to provide teachers with timely, thorough and professional classroom analysis results. Overall, the lab seeks to provide rigorous feedback for classroom teaching and to offer reform suggestions, as well as to innovate human-computer integrated teaching research methods that are based in teachers’ everyday practices.

Based in Shanghai - Connected to China – Venturing into the world

In the Spring of 2021, the International Classroom Analysis Lab collaborated with Classin, a well-established edtech company in China, to launch the "AI+OMO Classroom Experimental School" project, which aimed to explore new paradigms of teaching and learning, as well as to construct a high-quality, individualized educational system.

In the summer of 2021, the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction held the forum entitled “Classroom Transformation: From Technology Empowerment to System Reshaping,” which was part of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference held in Shanghai. The International Classroom Analysis Lab took advantage of this occasion and established the Classroom Intelligent Analysis Lab Alliance to promote its intelligent analysis platform. In a nutshell, the lab aims to provide solutions and initiatives contextualized in China but were applicable to carrying out classroom analysis worldwide.

Sub-forum of the World Congress on Artificial Intelligence

Sub-forum of the World Congress on Artificial Intelligence:

"Classroom Transformation: From Technology Empowerment to System Reshaping"

Professor CHEN Shuangye, deputy director of the School of Education at East China Normal University, released the ethics convention on intelligent analysis in the classroom.

Associate Professor SHI Yuchen, deputy director of the International Classroom Analysis Lab, announced the standards and products of intelligent classroom analysis.

20th Shanghai International Curriculum Forum

20th Shanghai International Curriculum Forum:

"Technology-empowered International Classroom Analysis: Unraveling the Black Box and Reconstructing Classrooms "

In November 2022, the International Classroom Analysis Lab organized the 20th Shanghai International Curriculum Forum with the theme of “Technology-empowered International Classroom Analysis: Unraveling the Black Box and Reconstructing Classrooms.”

In the forum, the International Classroom Analysis Lab released for the first time its Chinese-style, large-scale, modern classroom research and multi-party collaborative classroom intelligent analysis innovation.

Also in the forum, Associate Professor XIAO Sihan reported on the "revoice" discourse in Chinese classrooms; Associate Professor YANG Xiaozhe shared analytical results obtained from Chinese primary and secondary schools using the intelligent system; Associate Professor SHI Yuchen identified ten cutting-edge issues in classroom analysis.